Un-Scared
by evitascarlett
Summary: A story from the Redemption/Tuesdays with Johanna Universe: Fatherhood was supposed to be easier the second time around but it isn't going as Castle had planned. When his youngest child proclaims a dislike for the spooks and scares of Halloween and asks for an un-scary version of the holiday, he's pretty sure it's his worst nightmare. CastleHalloweenBash2018
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: Okay, this story is set within the Apologize/Redemption universe as usual; yes, it does have a spoiler for Tuesdays with Johanna…I debated about posting this because of that but honestly, I started this story last year for Halloween and then shifted gears and I really wanted to finish it for this Halloween. I hope you'll enjoy it!_

Chapter 1

In the shadowy darkness of her mother's old bedroom, three and a half year old McKenzie Grace Castle, whimpered softly and clutched her teddy bear. There were monsters lurking somewhere, she was sure of it. She had seen them in her dreams and she was sure she heard their scratching and pawing from somewhere in the room. Were they under the bed…or were they in the closet? She wasn't sure where they were…but she was sure they were coming to get her. The window rattled softly, the sound of a scrape outside making a tear leak from the corner of her eye.

McKenzie kept her bear clutched close to her chest and eyed the door that her grandmother always left half open so she could see the light in the hallway; she just needed to run as fast as she could and she could get away; the monsters wouldn't get her if she was with her Grandma and Grandpa. Another thump sounded from somewhere in the night and she threw back the covers and scrambled out of bed as fast she could, her small feet pounding against the carpet as she escaped the room and made it to the safety of the dimly lit hallway. She kept running, moving across the hallway to her grandparents door that had been left ajar for her if she should need them; she slipped inside, hurrying to the far side of the bed.

"Grandma," she sniffled as she reached out and patted her grandmother's cheek. "Grandma."

Johanna Beckett's eyes flicked open at the sound of the soft tearful voice. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" she asked softly as she sat up and reached for her granddaughter.

"The monsters were coming to get me, Grandma," she cried as she clung to her.

Johanna clicked on the lamp on the nightstand and then ran a soothing hand over the little girl's back. "Nothing's going to get you, honey. It was just a bad dream."

"No, I heard them; they were coming," McKenzie stated. "I heard noises."

"What kind of noises?" Johanna asked patiently.

"Monster noises…scary noises."

A hard gust of wind rattled the window and McKenzie's arms tightened around her grandmother's neck. "It's just the wind, sweetheart; the wind makes scary sounds sometimes; you were probably hearing the wind and the leaves; you might have even heard that squeaky gate of the neighbor's down the street."

"I heard monsters, they were moving around," she sniffled.

"There aren't any monsters here, I promise. Do you know what I bet it was? It was probably Scarlett. Scarlett plays in the hallway and in the guest room at night, you probably heard her pouncing on her toys; you know how much she likes that."

"Maybe the monster got Scarlett," McKenzie cried. "Maybe they ate her."

"No," Johanna said softly; "Nothing ate our Scarlett; she's too quick for that; but there aren't any monsters here. You were just dreaming and hearing those noises, that's all."

"I saw'd them."

"You mean 'seen', sweetheart; you seen them…where did you see a monster?"

"In my dream; big scary monsters…and a vampire too; he was going to suck my blood."

"A vampire?" Johanna asked, wondering how a vampire had entered the equation.

"Uh huh," her granddaughter hiccupped. "They're scary; they're coming to get me."

"There aren't any monsters," she assured. "Nothing's going to hurt you; it was just a bad dream."

"They were here," her granddaughter insisted; "But I runned away from them."

"Sweetheart, they were just pictures in your mind. Sometimes when we sleep our dreams do scary things."

"What's wrong?" Jim asked as he turned over and squinted against the light.

"McKenzie had a bad dream," his wife answered.

"The monsters are coming to get me, Grandpa."

Jim rubbed his eyes and sat up next to them. "There aren't any monsters here, sweet pea. I don't let monsters come here."

"You don't?" she asked.

"No; no monsters allowed here. Grandma's scared of monsters so I keep them away."

"I think some got in," McKenzie told him; her tearful green eyes trained on him. "I think they ate Scarlett."

"Ate Scarlett?" Jim repeated.

"Uh huh, monsters eat kitties," she cried. "I love Scarlett, I don't want the monster to eat her…but I think he did."

"Scarlett's fine," Johanna soothed.

"Yeah," Jim agreed; "Scarlett roams around at night and plays with her toys; she's probably in the guest room."

"What if the monster is in there?"

"Maybe Grandpa should go look around," Johanna suggested; a smile touching her lips as she glanced at her husband.

"You go look, Grandpa," McKenzie echoed; keeping an arm wrapped around her grandmother's neck.

"Okay; I'll go do a search," he said as he kissed her cheek. "I used to do this for your mommy when she was a little girl like you."

"Cause you're her daddy?" McKenzie asked.

"That's right," Jim replied. "I never let a monster get your mommy or Grandma and I won't let one get you either."

"What about Scarlett?" she sniffled.

He shook his head. "I won't let a monster eat Scarlett either. You stay here with Grandma, she'll keep you safe."

Johanna shifted her granddaughter to the space next to her and pulled the covers up over them. "Where's my bear?" McKenzie asked, panicked as she realized she no longer had a hold of it.

Johanna glanced down at the floor and found the well loved bear that Jim had given McKenzie when she was a baby. "Here it is," she said, leaning over to grab it and then placing it in her granddaughter's arms.

McKenzie hugged her bear tightly and snuggled close to her grandmother. "I don't want the monster to eat him."

"There's no monster; nothing's going to be eaten, I promise."

"Gracie will be okay in my room?"

She smiled, apparently her granddaughter had only had time to grab one companion to flee the room with; her baby doll had been left behind. "Gracie will be fine; do you want me to go get her?"

"No; don't leave me!"

"I won't leave you," she soothed. "Do you want me to tell Grandpa to get her?"

McKenzie considered it for a moment but didn't want her grandmother leaving her side. "No…she'll be okay?"

"She'll be fine. What has you thinking about monsters and vampires tonight?" she asked her as she gently wiped away the moisture on her cheeks. "Is it because Halloween's coming?"

"Halloween's scary," McKenzie declared.

"Some things about it are scary but not everything. You liked carving the pumpkin with Grandpa tonight, didn't you?"

"Uh huh, we made a funny pumpkin."

"You sure did and it was fun. We watched the Great Pumpkin; did it scare you?" Johanna asked.

"No; I liked that. I like when Snoopy comes up out of the pumpkins and Linus falls down," her granddaughter said with a soft giggle.

She smiled. "That was funny, wasn't it?"

"Uh huh; I want to watch it again sometime."

"I'm sure that can be arranged. What is it about Halloween that's scaring you? I thought you wanted to get a costume and go trick or treating?"

"I want my candy but I don't want it to be scary."

"Honey, I know some of the things about Halloween are scary looking but it's all pretend, it won't hurt you."

"I don't like it," her granddaughter whimpered. "I like fun, I don't like scary."

"Oh," Johanna said in understanding. "You want a fun Halloween, not a scary one."

"Yeah."

"Okay; we'll tell mommy tomorrow when I take you home."

McKenzie looked up at her grandmother. "Mommy won't let it be scary, will she?"

"No; mommy will take care of everything. Does any of the decorations you helped me put out scare you? Because if they do, I'll put them away and we won't use them until you're older and they look less scary."

"No, I like them…the ones at home are scary."

"Oh," Johanna replied; thinking about her son-in-law's love of decorating for the holidays. She had a feeling Rick wouldn't be happy to hear that his daughter wasn't a fan of the décor. "How come the decorations here don't scare you?"

"They have nice faces," McKenzie answered, one of her small hands curling around Johanna's fingers.

"Nice faces?"

"Uh huh, they don't got mean faces. You have nice witchys and ghosties and funny pumpkins. They're not mean, they got nice happy faces."

"I see," she replied; her décor for the holidays was of the cute variety…it was her personal preference and also what she had deemed as age appropriate for her granddaughter when she had purchased the items the year before. Rick, however, preferred the spooky…which was fine if that was what you liked, but it might be a bit too much for a little girl.

"We don't have a Halloween tree at home," her granddaughter went on. "I like our tree here."

"I can get you one for home," Johanna told her; knowing that she did enjoy the small black twig like tree that was strung with purple lights. They had hung cute little witches, ghosts, black cats and pumpkins on it and she had to have it lit up as soon as she came in the door. "How about before I take you home tomorrow, we'll go get you a Halloween tree and you and Mommy can decorate it…and you can pick out some other decorations that you like for your house. Okay?"

"Okay…but I don't like that scary face Daddy put on the door, it makes me fraid."

"We'll tell Daddy that it makes you afraid and I'm sure he'll put it away," Johanna soothed; "Will you feel better then?"

Before McKenzie could answer, they heard a noise from the vicinity of the guest room. "What was that?" the little girl whispered, pressing close to her grandmother.

"That was Grandpa looking for monsters."

"He'll make them go away?"

"Yes; he's very good at it. Grandpa will protect us."

McKenzie grew quiet, her bear still hugged tightly to her. Johanna kissed her forehead and cuddled her. "It's all right, honey; I'm here and I've got you. You just think happy thoughts and that bad dream will go away."

"Happy thoughts?"

"Mhmm; you think about what makes you happy; like being with Mommy and Daddy; and when Alexis plays with you and Grammy takes you out for ice cream…"

"And when I bake cookies with you, Grandma?"

"Yes; that's a happy time; and when you went to a baseball game with Grandpa and when you play with Scarlett. You have lots of happy times to think of."

McKenzie nodded and they heard Jim's voice in the hallway. "Come on, Scarlett," he beckoned as he stepped inside the bedroom. The cat ran into the room and leaped on bed to join her favorite playmate.

"Grandpa; you saved Scarlett!" McKenzie exclaimed, hugging the cat as it rubbed its head against her small chest and purred.

"Of course I did," he replied as he climbed back into bed. "And there are no monsters here; I checked everywhere. You're safe."

"Can I sleep with you and Grandma?"

"Of course you can," Johanna stated before her husband could answer.

"Scarlett can stay too?"

"She'll stay in here with us," Jim replied as the cat moved to the bottom of the bed and curled up near Johanna's feet. "Are you ready to turn out the light?"

"Don't turn out the light!"

"Why not?" he asked; "You've never been afraid to turn the light out before."

"It's scary," she murmured.

Johanna slipped out of bed. "What if we turn on this lamp?" she asked as she moved to the dresser and turned on the old hurricane lamp she had bought long ago. The bulb was dim but would provide McKenzie with some light while allowing her and Jim to sleep without the brighter lamp on the nightstand.

"Okay," McKenzie replied.

She clicked off the lamp on her nightstand and returned to bed, retaking her place; her granddaughter snuggling back into her side. "Grandpa, are you sure they're gone?" McKenzie asked.

"There's no monsters, honey," he soothed. "I even checked downstairs, nothing is in this house with us; the doors are locked, the windows are locked, there's no way for any monsters to get it, you're safe just like you always are when you stay here."

"Okay," she said.

Johanna pressed another kiss against her hair. "Do you want me to turn the TV on?"

"No! The monsters came out of the TV," McKenzie stated.

A piece of the puzzle, Jim and Johanna thought as their gazes met in the dim light of the room. "Did something on TV scare you, McKenzie?" Jim asked.

She nodded. "All of those monsters…Grandma; is Mommy okay? No monsters are getting her are they?"

"Your mommy is fine," Johanna assured. "I'm sure she's home from Daddy's book party and she's sleeping. Daddy's with her, he'll protect her."

McKenzie shook her head. "No, Daddy likes monsters. He thinks they're fun…they're not; they're big and mean and scary."

Another piece of the puzzle, Johanna thought. "Did Daddy let you watch something scary on TV?" she asked.

"Uh huh; it was real scary…Lexis was there but I still got scared."

"Where was mommy?"

"Working."

"You'd think Alexis would've mentioned that it might be too scary for her sister since Rick didn't seem to think so," Jim commented.

"It must've been a bad moment for both of them," his wife replied. "When did this happen, sweetie?"

"The other day."

"Did you have scary dreams after you saw it?"

"Uh huh; I stayed with Mommy last night…Mommy gots a gun; she can shoot monsters."

Jim stifled a laugh and Johanna did her best to curb hers. "You're a smart girl," she told her. "Monsters will be afraid of mommy, so see, you don't have to worry about her, she can take care of herself."

"Does mommy know you saw a scary movie?" Jim asked.

"No."

"We'll tell her tomorrow," Johanna said; "And once mommy knows, I promise you won't have to see scary things on TV anymore until you're a big girl."

"Like Lexis?"

"Yes; you can wait until you're a big girl like Alexis. Close your eyes now and try to sleep; Grandpa and I are here with you and we'll never let anything hurt you, okay?"

"Okay," she murmured as she rubbed her eye.

Jim shifted toward them, stretching his arm out to wrap around both of them, just as he used to do when Kate was small and crawled in between them. "You're safe, sweet pea," he assured the little girl.

"We love you," Johanna told her softly.

"Love you," McKenzie repeated, her eyes tired but the last vestiges of fear keeping her from closing them. "Tell me a story, Grandma."

"What kind of story?"

"A princess story. I like princess stories best…princesses are better than scary monsters."

"Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a Princess," Johanna began; "And she was looking for a Prince."

"How come?" her sleepy granddaughter asked.

"Because she wanted to get married…she needed a Prince to live in the castle with her so she wouldn't be lonely."

"And so he could kill bugs," Jim added.

"That too," Johanna stated; "Anyway; every day, the Princess left the enchanted forest and went out into the big city looking for her Prince…and one day, she saw him."

"Did he have a white horse?" McKenzie asked.

"No…he had a blue Camaro," she answered.

Jim held in his laughter but the effort made him shake. "Why's Grandpa laughing?"

"Because he's heard this story before and he always laughs when he's awake at three in the morning."

"Oh. What happened next?"

"Well, the Princess saw the prince and she liked him a whole lot. Every day she went to the city and saw him and they became friends…but the Princess had a lot of friends, what she didn't have was a husband and she wanted the Prince to marry her."

"Did he marry her?"

"Not right away," Johanna said; "You see, sometimes princes can be stubborn…and sometimes, they turn into frogs for awhile."

"I've heard about that," McKenzie said sleepily. "Princess has to kiss him to make him change back."

"That's right," she said as Jim laughed quietly. "The Princess loved the prince so much that even though he turned into a frog, she still wanted to marry him. The Prince…well…he sat there and croaked a lot, thinking it would make the princess go away or decide to be happy with how things were but she was stubborn too. She picked him and she wasn't leaving without him. So she kissed him…and it took a lot of kisses to make him turn back into a Prince; but you know what?"

"What?"

"While the Prince was sitting on his lily pad croaking like a frog, he realized that he loved the Princess and wanted to live in the castle with her…because he knew no other Princess could love him as much as that one. So when he turned back into a Prince, he told her he loved her and they got married."

"Then what happened?"

"When they got married, they moved into the castle and became King and Queen and then they had a little baby girl and she was their princess…she was smart and beautiful and when she was all grown up, she got married and had a baby Princess of her own; and the King and Queen were so happy because they got to be the little princess's Grandma and Grandpa and they all lived happily ever after."

McKenzie smiled, her eyelashes fluttering against her cheek as her eyes closed. "Good story, Grandma."

"Thank you, Baby; you sleep now," she murmured, smoothing her fingertips across McKenzie's forehead, lulling her further.

"So," Jim said quietly once McKenzie was asleep. "I was just croaking on a lily pad, was I?"

"In that version of the story," she said with a grin; "It's the middle of the night, I have to go with material I know when only half of my brain cells are awake."

Jim yawned. "Understandable. Katie's not going to like knowing about this scary movie business."

"Yeah; I'm sure it's going to make her day…Rick better take cover."

Her husband smiled as he met her eye. "Did you ever think we'd end up like this again?"

"Like what?"

"Having a kid between us in bed," he said with a quiet laugh.

"No, not really…but it's kind of nice for the moment," she whispered with a smile; "And just think, you've proven you're still the monster slayer and have now added cat rescuer to your resume."

Jim grinned. "I'm a man of many talents."

"I know," she whispered; a sassy gleam in her eye.

He smiled as he carefully leaned across their granddaughter and kissed his wife. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

"Goodnight, honey."

"Do you think she'll be okay for the rest of the night?"

Johanna nodded. "I think she'll be fine here with us. I hope her father is sleeping…he's probably going to need the rest."

"Yeah; he might have some nightmares of his own once Katie gets a hold of him."

"Better him than McKenzie," Johanna commented, thinking about the horror he was sure to have when they were informed that his daughter wanted an un-scary Halloween opposed to his usual 'the more scares the better' idea of the holiday.

 _Author's Note: Kate and Castle appear in the next chapter._


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: Thanks for your reviews!_

Chapter 2

It was nearly noon the next day when Kate picked up her phone, checking to see if she had missed a message while she had been in the shower. She frowned, seeing no missed call or text; she hadn't heard from either one of her parents that morning and usually her mother had McKenzie home by lunchtime. A small knot of worry formed in her stomach and she touched the screen once more, intending to call her mother when a knock sounded at the door.

She laid her phone back down on the counter and headed for the door, swinging it open to find her mother standing on the other side, McKenzie perched on her hip, a shopping bag and overnight bag in hand.

"Hi, Mommy," McKenzie said happily as they stepped inside, leaning toward her mother for her welcome home kiss.

"Hi, Baby," Kate said, her hand running over her daughter's dark hair that was the same color as Johanna's. "Why are you making Grandma carry you when you can walk?"

"Grandma likes carrying me."

"That's right," Johanna said as she kissed her granddaughter's cheek. "You're only little for so long, I have to carry you while I can."

"See," McKenzie said with a grin. "Told you."

Kate gave her an amused smile. "You're not picking up Grandma's favorite phrase, are you?"

"Only part of it," Johanna stated; "Give me time and she'll pick up the rest."

She smirked at her mother. "Just what I need."

"Absolutely," her mother grinned before kissing her cheek and then her granddaughter's before sitting her on her feet.

"Did you have fun with Grandma and Grandpa," Kate asked McKenzie.

"I always have fun with Grandma and Grandpa," she replied.

"We always have fun with you too," Johanna told her.

McKenzie wrapped herself around her mother's legs and looked up at her. "Me and Grandpa carved a pumpkin! Grandma, show Mommy the picture!"

"I will," Johanna promised as she sat the bags down and then shrugged out of her jacket and sat her purse aside.

"Let's get your jacket and shoes off while we wait for Grandma to find the picture," Kate said as she carefully stooped down to tend to her child. "I was starting to think that maybe you decided to stay another night."

"We overslept," her mother explained; "And then we had to drop your father off at your uncle's so he can work on the car with him and then McKenzie and I had an errand to run, but more about that in a minute," she said as she cupped her daughter's elbow and helped her up from the floor. "Here's the picture."

"Do you like our pumpkin, Mommy?" McKenzie asked, bouncing on her toes as she waited for her mother's reaction.

Kate smiled as she gazed at the image of her father with McKenzie on his lap and their freshly carved pumpkin on display next to them. "I love it; and this is a great picture of you and Grandpa. Mom, send that to me."

"I'll send you all of the pumpkin carving pictures," her mother remarked. "I took a few of every step of the process."

"When are we going to carve pumpkins?" McKenzie asked.

"Tonight," Kate replied; "Daddy went and got pumpkins this morning."

Satisfied with her answer; McKenzie ran to her pile of toys in the living room. "Do you want some coffee, Mom?"

"I'd rather have tea if you have it."

Kate grinned. "Now you know we always keep a box of your tea here for you."

"I appreciate it," Johanna laughed as she slipped her arm around her daughter's waist. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Pretty good."

Johanna laid her hand against the swell of Kate's stomach. "Mystery Baby is behaving itself?"

She laughed. "You have no idea how much Castle loves that you call it Mystery Baby."

"Well I wouldn't have to call it that if you'd tell me what it is."

"Not a chance," her daughter grinned. "Your torment is part of the fun."

Johanna dipped her head towards Kate's stomach as she gave it a pat. "That's okay; Grandma loves you anyway, Mystery Baby…but I have a strong suspicion that you're a boy."

The baby kicked against her palm and she smiled as she released her hold on her daughter. "How was Rick's book party?"

"It was good; but tiring," Kate answered as she put water on for the tea. "I was ready to come home an hour after we got there but I stuck it out. What did you all do besides the pumpkin carving?"

Johanna settled on one of the stools at the counter. "Well, I know you fed her dinner before you brought her over but she still wanted a bowl of macaroni and cheese so I fixed her some and she and your father ate it."

Kate laughed. "I'm assuming Dad had already had dinner too?"

"Of course; he's always been that way…I'm assuming McKenzie's probably having a little growth spurt and needs the extra food at the moment."

"Grandma, tell Mommy we got a Halloween tree," McKenzie called out as she searched the toy box off to the side of the living room.

"I will, sweetheart," she promised. "After she ate, they carved the pumpkin and we watched It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. She played with Scarlett and her toys and we read a few stories. On our errand this morning, I got her a Halloween tree because she wants one here at home."

"That's fine," Kate replied as her daughter came towards them, carrying a Barbie doll. "Do you want some juice, sweetie?"

"Uh huh," she answered; "Grandma said you and me can decorate my tree."

She smiled as she got her a juice box and put the straw in it for her. "We can do that; do you want to put it in your room? Daddy didn't leave us much space to work with down here."

McKenzie frowned. "No; I want to see it all the time, Mommy. I gots other dec-rations too."

Kate's gaze shifted to her mother. "There's a reason for it," Johanna stated; "I've got several things I have to tell you."

"Did she misbehave?"

"No," Johanna replied; "She's always good. We had a small issue in the middle of the night."

Concern spread across Kate's face as her hands fluttered against the counter. "Was she sick? You should've called me."

"She wasn't sick, Katie; and it's nothing bad, don't get upset. It's something all kids go through."

"What is it?"

"She woke me up close to three and said the monsters were getting her," Johanna replied. "She slept between me and your father…after he did a search for monsters."

"Grandpa saved Scarlett," McKenzie announced. "Here's my new Barbie, Grandma. She's a doctor; Lexis gave her to me."

"She's very pretty," Johanna told her. "That was very nice of your sister to add to your Barbie collection."

"Why did Grandpa have to save Scarlett?" Kate asked.

"So the monsters wouldn't eat her," her daughter replied. "Grandpa 'tected us from the monsters."

"Grandpa's good at that," she agreed; her gaze shifting to Johanna and then back to her child. "Daddy's in his office, you should tell him you're home."

"Okay," McKenzie said; "Grandma, tell Mommy no scaries."

"Don't worry, sweetheart; I'm going to tell her all about it."

McKenzie scampered off to find her father and Kate gave her attention back to Johanna. "So we're in the monster phase now?" she said blowing out a breath. "I guess this is probably the usual age for that, right?"

"Yes…but she had some help getting there," her mother stated.

"What do you mean?"

"I thought maybe the idea was in her head because of Halloween being so near and Rick's love to decorate," Johanna explained; "And that does have a role, but I'll get to that in a moment. After I had calmed her down and your father did the search for monsters, located Scarlett, because she was worried about her, and assured her you were fine because she was worried about you running into a monster, and we were all settled; I offered to turn the TV on for her to help her get back to sleep and she said no, that the monsters came out of the TV."

"The TV?" she asked as the kettle sounded and she moved to it to prepare her mother's cup of tea.

Her mother nodded. "Did you know that your husband allowed McKenzie to watch a scary movie with him and Alexis while you were work the other day?"

Kate's jaw tightened. "Tell me you're joking."

Johanna shook her head. "She said it was very scary and had monsters in it. Jim asked her to describe it to him this morning so he could try to figure out what movie it was; the way she talks it had werewolves and vampires and other hideous creatures in it. We're not sure what it was based on her limited description but it scared the hell out of her. She said she slept with you the night before."

"Yeah, she did but she didn't mention anything about monsters. When I asked her what was wrong, she just snuggled up against me and went back to sleep. I figured it was a bad dream or she was lonely; I notice that sometimes when Martha isn't home at night, she sleeps with us."

"She told me she slept with you that night because 'mommy gots a gun and she can shoot monsters'."

Kate expelled a breath. "On one hand I'm pleased and touched that she knows I'll keep her safe…and shoot at anything that tries to harm her. On the other hand, I have the sudden urge to shoot my husband in a non fatal place."

Johanna nodded. "I'd suggest aiming for his ass."

"Yeah; that's what I was thinking," her daughter replied as she sat the cup of tea in front of her. "I guess great minds really do think alike."

"So true," Johanna said as she blew on her tea to cool it.

"What about the decorations?" Kate asked.

"Well…I know Rick isn't going to like this but some of the, um, holiday décor around here is giving your daughter the creeps," she explained. "She told me some of the stuff scares her and she likes my stuff because they have nice faces."

"Oh," she breathed; "She likes the cute stuff…it's non-threatening."

"Yeah," Johanna replied; "So while we were getting her little Halloween tree, I let her pick out a few things like I have so she could have it here…I thought maybe it would help if she had some decorations she likes. I hope that's okay."

"Of course," Kate answered; "It's her home, she should have some say in the decorating for holidays; especially if it's scaring her."

Before Johanna could comment further, Castle came walking through the loft with his daughter in his arms. "Isn't this nice; three of my favorite women in the house," he stated.

"More like two favorites and one you lie about to make it look good," his mother-in-law stated.

"Now you know I love you dearly, Johanna" he stated as he paused at her side to kiss her cheek.

"Sure you do."

"Do you hear that, McKenzie; Grandma doubts my love for her. Tell her how silly that is."

"That's silly, Grandma. Can I have my cookie now?"

"Yes, of course," he answered as they headed for the cookie jar. "We're having celebratory cookies; apparently our favorite feline friend Scarlett was in peril and Grandpa Jim saved her."

Kate eyed him as he fished the cookies out of the jar. "Uh oh," he said; "Mommy's giving me that look again."

"You must've been bad," McKenzie told him. "I'm going to sit with Grandma."

He nodded and set her down. "That's a smart girl; save yourself."

Once McKenzie was settled on her grandmother's lap; Castle smiled at his wife. "Something wrong, honey?"

"Did you let her watch a scary movie?" Kate demanded to know.

"Yeah, but it wasn't a big deal; she was fine."

"No; she's not fine. Now she's having bad dreams about monsters."

"She was fine," he insisted; "Alexis watched scary movies when she was little and she didn't have bad dreams."

"She's not Alexis," Kate and Johanna stated at the same time.

Castle sighed and leaned across the counter to look at his child. "You liked watching the movie with me and Alexis didn't you? You weren't scared were you?"

"It was real scary, Daddy. I didn't like those monsters."

"They're just pretend monsters; remember?"

"I don't like it."

"Castle; what were you thinking?" Kate asked. "She's three and a half; she doesn't need to be seeing scary movies at this point."

"But Alexis watched them," he began to say and then trailed off. "She didn't seem bothered by it; afterwards we even found some re-runs of ALF; that was fun, wasn't it, McKenzie? We liked ALF."

McKenzie shook her head. "ALF tried to eat the kitty."

"Oh; that explains it," Johanna said; "That's why you were so worried about Scarlett getting eaten last night."

The little girl nodded. "I don't want any monsters eating Scarlett; I love her, Grandma."

"I know you do, sweetie" she said she hugged her tightly. "Don't you worry; Scarlett is safe, we won't let anything hurt her."

"You'll keep her in your room with Grandpa tonight?"

"Of course I will."

"Are you happy now?" Kate asked her husband. "She's worried about monsters eating her and the cat."

"ALF is not scary," Castle remarked. "It was a family comedy in the 80s."

"Yeah, well, to a three and half year old of today who loves a certain cat; it's a hairy cat eating monster," she stated. "No more ALF re-runs."

"I don't want to watch that anymore," their daughter announced.

"Don't worry, sweetie; you won't see it," Kate assured; "Because Daddy isn't going to show you scary things anymore."

"Katie; I'm also supposed to tell you that McKenzie doesn't want a scary Halloween; she just wants a fun Halloween," Johanna commented.

"Halloween is the time for scary fun," Castle remarked. "You want to have scary fun with Daddy don't you?"

"No."

"No?"

"I don't like scary Halloween, Daddy."

"You don't like Halloween?" he asked; his face showing shock and disappointment.

"No; it's scary. I don't like that; just the fun stuff."

"But it's fun to get scared sometimes," he told her.

McKenzie shook her head; "I don't like it."

"What about trick or treating and costumes?" Castle asked as his wife busied herself pouring herself a cup of tea.

"I want my candy," his daughter announced; "And I want a pretty costume."

"Scary costumes are better; don't you want to be a witch or girl zombie?" he asked

"No! I want to be a princess! I want to be Cindaella."

"You were a princess last year," Castle stated. "How about being a witch? You can paint your face green."

"No!" his daughter declared. "Cindaella! I want a pretty dress and a princess crown."

"But you already…"

"You can be Cinderella," Kate said, cutting off her husband. "We'll go out tomorrow and get your costume, okay?"

"Can Grandma come with us?"

"If she wants to."

"Grandma; are you coming with us?"

"Sure; I'd like that," Johanna told her. "You and Mommy call me when you're ready to go. Katie; one of my students works at that new holiday store downtown on the weekends; we could go there, she mentioned she'd give me her friends and family discount."

Kate grinned. "Is she bucking for an A in your class?"

"She's already got one; she has straight A's," she replied; "She's just a nice girl. She said they have a lot of stuff for little kids."

"Sounds good, we'll check it out."

"I still think you should be something else for Halloween, McKenzie," Castle said. "You don't want to be a princess every year, do you?"

"Yes," his daughter stated.

"But that's not fun; it's fun to be something different. How about a ghost?"

"No!"

"Castle," Kate said, a touch of warning in her tone. "She wants to be Cinderella and that's what she's going to be. She was Belle last year; it's a different princess, okay? And don't think for a moment that you're off the hook for showing her a scary movie because you're not."

"I wouldn't dream of thinking I was off the hook."

"Mommy; those monsters won't come here, will they?" McKenzie asked. "You'll scare them away?"

Kate rounded the counter to sit next to her mother and daughter. "I know those shows scared you, sweetie," she said softly as she took McKenzie's hand in hers; "But it was all just pretend; there are no monsters. They aren't going to hurt you or me or anyone else; not even Scarlett. Mommy and Daddy will always keep you safe; and when you're not home, Grandma and Grandpa keep you safe. You don't have to worry."

"I'm still scared, Mommy."

She pulled her into her arms and held her tightly. "Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

"Can you take that face off the door?" McKenzie asked; her finger pointing at the Scream mask decoration that Castle had hung on the door.

"That's one of the decorations she mentioned last night, Katie," Johanna stated. "She said it scares her."

Kate nodded. "We'll take it down. Rick; take it down."

"But it's my Scream mask," he said. "I've been hanging that up for years."

"Not this year."

"I thought you'd want to teach her to face her fear."

"Castle; it's a decoration; she doesn't like it and she shouldn't have to feel afraid in her own home; take it down. This is your fault and now you'll have to deal with the consequences."

"Please, Daddy," McKenzie pleaded. "It makes me 'fraid."

He nodded; if the mask was causing his child distress; then of course it must return to its box…he would mourn privately. He walked to the door and took down the decoration. "All gone," he said as he opened the closet door and put the mask in the box.

"Is there anything else that you want Daddy to put away?" Kate asked.

"Yeah; that skull," she answered; pointing to one of Castle's beloved Halloween decorations that he had set on the end of the counter. "I don't like that."

"I don't like it either," Johanna commented.

"You don't get a vote if you don't live here," Castle told her.

She smirked at him. "See, it's comments like that that make me doubt your affection, Rick."

"I don't think we should be putting away the decorations," he said quietly as he neared his wife.

"I'm not going to have our daughter living in fear; now put the damn thing away because quite frankly; I'm not crazy about a skull sitting on my counter top either. It's fine for the party but not for every day. I forget it's there early in the morning and then jump out of my skin when I glimpse it," Kate remarked. "The baby's probably getting whiplash from me jerking around so much."

He sighed heavily as he snatched the skull from the counter. "This is my worst nightmare; I've woken up in a world full of Halloween haters."

"We don't hate Halloween," Kate stated; "We're just going for the un-scary version this year. Anything else, Baby?"

"That big black bird in the window," McKenzie replied. "He scares me…he looks like that mean bird in that other movie Daddy and Lexis watched…member, Daddy; he pecked out someone's eyes…it was scary."

"Oh my God," Kate declared; "You watched The Birds too!?"

Castle closed his eyes for a moment. "She was asleep when we started watching it, she woke up somewhere in the middle. I told her it was all pretend, she didn't seem to be paying attention to it."

"You shouldn't be watching that stuff in the daytime when she can see it," his wife stated.

"It's not a big deal, Alexis always watched it with me, she was fine."

"McKenzie is different," she said through clenched teeth. "She doesn't need to be seeing things like that."

"How can you watch that anyway?" Johanna asked; "That movie scared the hell out of me when it came out. I hate it."

"It's a classic!" he exclaimed.

"Gone with the Wind is a classic," she replied. "The Birds is just horrifying and senseless."

"You're maligning Hitchcock!?"

"From what I've heard about him, he deserves it," his mother-in-law declared.

"Daddy; put that black bird away, please."

"Mr. Black Bird is our friend. He's not real," Castle told her.

McKenzie eyed him. "He could get real."

"No, he can't."

"Uh huh."

"No," he said with a shake of his head; "Mr. Black Bird will not get real."

"I saw Toy Story, Daddy; it gets real!"

Johanna spit her tea back into the cup as she tried not to choke while laughing. "Well, Rick; she's got you there…it did get real in Toy Story."

Her son-in-law smirked. "Thank you so much for showing her Toy Story, Johanna."

"At least it's age appropriate," she remarked; "When you're on your date night, we have our age appropriate movie night. She had no nightmares after Toy Story…she just asked Jim if he could stay up and record her toys coming to life with his phone."

"Well, Castle; you can't say she isn't your daughter," Kate remarked with a laugh; "She has your imagination and logic."

"I'm so proud," he said; laying a hand against his heart. "Now if only she had my love for all things spooky."

"You know what they say, Rick; two out of three aint bad," his mother-in-law grinned.

He smirked at her. "I'm going to send that bird home with you, Johanna."

She shook her head. "I don't like that thing either; it gives me the creeps."

"And suddenly I'm seeing were this part of McKenzie's gene pool is coming from," he stated as he moved to the window and snatched up the fake black bird.

"You want to make something of it?" she asked.

"I'd have to be a fool to try that," he laughed. "Now do you ladies want to strip me of any more of my Halloween decorations?"

"What do you think, McKenzie; is that all of the things that scare you?" Kate asked.

"No."

"What else?"

"That yucky vampire on the stand that says he's gonna suck my blood…I don't want him to suck my blood, Mommy."

"Oh, that explains why that exact phrase came up in the discussion of her dream," Johanna said.

"Will Daddy put him away?" McKenzie asked.

"He will."

"I will?" Castle asked.

"You will," his wife stated.

Castle smiled at his daughter. "Count Dracula is our friend," he told her; "We don't want to put him away."

"He's not my friend," McKenzie stated. "He's scary."

"He's not scary."

"Yes, he is."

"Castle; put him away. Maybe next year when she's older she won't mind."

He sighed heavily and grabbed Dracula from the stand. "You three are killing my Halloween spirit; I just want you to know that."

"Well you have to ask yourself what you want more," Johanna commented; "Do you want your decorations or do you want a frightened child? Keep in mind that the wrong answer could result in a beating from the child's grandmother since her mother is unable to do it herself due to pregnancy."

"When you put it like that; I'm happy to make the sacrifice."

"We knew you would be," Kate replied; "And don't think for a minute that we're through discussing your choice of movies to watch with our child."

"I know, you've mentioned that…that pregnancy forgetfulness must be sneaking up on you again."

She smirked at him. "Maybe it'll make me forget to climb in bed with you tonight."

"Harsh," Castle stated.

"I'd say you deserve it," Kate remarked. "Anything else, McKenzie?"

"No…can I put out my new dec-rations?"

She smiled and gave her a kiss. "Sure you can; let's see what you and Grandma bought."

"Rick, make yourself useful and go grab that shopping bag," Johanna stated, nodding at the bag she had left by the closet door.

"You brought us decorations?" he asked, slight disdain in his voice.

"Yes," his mother-in-law replied. "They're things McKenzie picked out at the store today."

He handed the bag to Johanna and stood by, waiting to see what they had bought. "Here's the Halloween tree, Katie," she said as she pulled the slim orange box from the bag."

"Since Daddy put away that vampire, we can set your tree on the stand," Kate told her daughter.

"Okay, Mommy," she said with a smile. "Show her what else, Grandma."

"Well first, here's your little stuffed witch you wanted," Johanna said, pulling a cute stuffed witch with purple yarn hair from the bag and handing it to her granddaughter.

"Thank you, Grandma."

"You're welcome, sweetheart. She picked out these," Johanna said, taking out two small pumpkins that had funny expressions carved into them.

"See my pumpkins, Daddy."

"I see," he said; "Didn't you get one with a spooky face?"

"No, I like funny faces; like me and Grandpa carved on the pumpkin."

"But scary jack-o-lanterns are fun too."

"She didn't want the scary faces," Johanna remarked, pulling some little knick knacks from the bag. "She liked these little witches and these little cats that are wearing witch hats."

"Those are adorable," Kate said.

"Yeah; just what Halloween is all about…cutesy cat knick knacks," Castle stated.

"Castle," Kate warned.

He clamped his lips shut. "I was a little surprised that she went for this little water ball; it has Frankenstein in it," Johanna said; "But he looks like a kid friendly one."

"He's got a nice face," McKenzie stated.

"And she wanted these gel clings for the windows; I told her if she can't put them up here, I'll take them home and she can put them on my windows."

"She can put them on the windows here," Kate replied; "They're cute."

"More cuteness," Castle muttered, yelping a little as his wife pinched his arm.

Johanna pulled a beanie filled ghost from the bag, along with a few more pumpkins, un-scary witches, and some Peanuts Halloween themed decorations.

"Look, Daddy; I gots Snoopy!"

"I see that."

"You picked very nice decorations, McKenzie," Kate told her. "We'll make room for them and we'll put them where you want them. Will you feel some better with these new decorations?"

"Yes, Mommy."

Castle sighed. "They're all so cutesy."

"What's wrong with cutesy?" Johanna asked. "That's how I decorate."

"I know…that's why I wouldn't let you decorate for me for Halloween," he stated. "It's the season to be spooky."

His mother-in-law eyed him. "When you have a little girl who doesn't have many Halloweens under her belt; you decorate for her age and her level of fear. She doesn't like the scary stuff yet."

McKenzie's lower lip trembled as she clutched her stuffed witch. "Daddy doesn't like my dec-rations, Mommy."

"Of course he does, Baby," she soothed, holding her tightly. "Don't you, Daddy?"

He pasted a smile on his lips. "Of course I like them…you know I just like to tease Grandma."

"I like Grandma's dec-rations."

"I know you do," he replied. "Grandma has nice things."

"Can I put out my dec-rations, Daddy?"

"Of course you can," he told her, his arms reaching for her. "I'll help you."

"Okay; but not the tree. Mommy's helping me with the tree."

"I won't touch the tree, I promise."

Castle plucked McKenzie from her mother's arms and they put the items back in the bag so they could carry them around the loft and put them where McKenzie wanted them.

"I'm sorry about last night, Mom," Kate said softly. "I didn't think for a minute that she would get up again in the middle of the night."

Johanna patted her hand. "No need to apologize; all little kids have nightmares; it's just as much a grandma's job to scare them away as it is a mommy's job. I've had plenty of experience."

"I know," she replied; "Did Dad mind resuming his role of monster slayer?"

"He didn't mind at all; he didn't hesitate. He told her he never left a monster get you and he wouldn't let one get her. It was fine...reminded us of old times when you used to crawl in between us," Johanna said with a soft laugh.

Kate laughed. "Well she does look like me…with the exception of her hair color; she has your hair color."

Johanna smiled. "You can't deny the three of us are related, that's for sure."

"We do all look a good bit alike, don't we?"

Her mother nodded. "Which means you named her well…she's a McKenzie."

"I wonder what this one is going to be," Kate said, patting her stomach.

"I don't know; it might be a redhead like Martha…little red headed boys are cute."

"You don't know if it's a boy."

"I've got a hunch it is…but no matter what, he'll be adorable like his sister."

Kate smirked at her. "Don't go thinking McKenzie can tell you what it is because we haven't told her either."

"I know…I already tried to get the information out of her."

"Mom!"

"What? We we're just having a chat over lunch the other day, that's all. It was just one question; are you having a baby brother or a baby sister? She said that mommy and daddy won't tell her because it's a surprise."

Kate grinned. "You cussed me a little, didn't you?"

"Not out loud."

Her daughter laughed. "You'll find out in January."

"Late January," Johanna said; "He might hold off until early February."

"That wouldn't be you hoping to have a grandchild born on your birthday, would it?"

"No, of course not."

"Uh huh."

Johanna smiled. "Well, it would be a nice present."

"Yeah; but Dad usually takes you away for your birthday, you wouldn't be here for the birth if it was late and I want you here," Kate said.

"Don't worry, honey; as soon as you gave me the due date, I told your father to postpone any winter travel plans; I'm not missing the birth, no matter when it arrives."

"Good to know."

"Look, Grandma," McKenzie said as she ran toward them. "Look at my dec-rations; they're not scary."

"I see them," Johanna said with a smile. "You did a good job. I'm glad you feel better about the decorations now."

"We've still got the windows to do," Castle remarked.

"We've got all day," Kate stated; "And after we're done decorating, we'll watch a kid friendly Halloween show; how does that sound McKenzie?"

"Can we watch the Great Pumpkin?"

"You watched that with Grandma and Grandpa last night," she replied.

"But I like it," McKenzie replied. "It's got Snoopy."

"Alright, sweetie; we'll watch it before we carve our pumpkins."

"McKenzie," Johanna said, drawing her attention; "If Daddy puts scary movies on when Mommy's not home again, you call me and I'll make him stop."

"Okay, Grandma."

"How is she going to call you?" Castle asked; "She doesn't know the number."

Johanna smiled and beckoned her granddaughter to her side. "Let's show Daddy what we've been learning," she said to her granddaughter. "What's Grandma's name?"

"Johanna Beckett," McKenzie answered.

"Good job. What's Grandma's phone number?"

McKenzie thought for a moment. "555-3919."

"Perfect. Rick, give McKenzie the phone," she said, nodding at the cordless landline phone.

He eyed his mother-in-law with suspicion as he handed his daughter the phone.

"Alright, sweetie; can you turn on the phone and dial my number like we've been practicing?"

McKenzie's teeth worried her lower lip as she studied the numbers and then began to press them. When she finished, Johanna's phone rang on the counter.

"I did it, Grandma!" her granddaughter exclaimed excitedly.

"You did, I'm so proud," she told her.

"That was a really good job, McKenzie," Kate praised. "It's good for you to know Grandma's name and phone number, you're such a smart girl."

"It's for mergencies," McKenzie explained. "That's when something bad happens and you and daddy can't help me; I can call Grandma if I can get a phone; if not, I find a grown up to call her."

"That's right," Johanna said with a nod.

"You taught her to call you," Castle repeated. "She's three and a half and she has your number memorized."

"Yes; for emergencies…I was taught to know my grandmother's name and number and I made sure Katie memorized her grandmother's name and number at a young age," Johanna stated. "I've taught her to dial it on a landline and a smartphone. We practice a few times a week."

"I'm glad," Kate stated; "I think it's great."

"I see so many phones calls about me," Castle stated; "Every time she doesn't like something, she's going to call Grandma."

Johanna smiled. "Small price to pay to have a child who is prepared in case of emergency."

"Sure, use that as your excuse," he said with a nod.

"I've been teaching her other things too," Johanna stated. "McKenzie; what's Mommy's name?"

"Kate Beckett Castle."

"Good. What's her job?"

"Detective," McKenzie said, stumbling over the word a little. "At the 12th pre…pre…that's the hard word, Grandma."

"Precinct," Johanna told her patiently. "We'll practice it. What's Daddy's name?"

"Rick Castle; he writes books and goes to work with Mommy."

Her grandmother smiled. "Right. Who's your sister?"

"Lexis Castle."

"Grandpa?"

"Jim Beckett."

"And your Grammy?"

"Martha…" McKenzie trailed off.

"This one is always a little tough for her," Johanna said; "She thinks its Castle like hers and she doesn't understand why it isn't. Grammy's last name is Rodgers."

"Martha Rodgers," McKenzie stated.

Kate gave her daughter a soft clap of approval. "You're doing really good; Grammy's last name is harder for you to remember because you don't hear it as much as the others."

"I'll member it soon," her daughter said with a nod.

"I'm sure you will; and you remember what Grandma told you; if Daddy turns on the scary movies while I'm at work, you call her and tell her…then Daddy will be the one who's scared," Kate told her.

McKenzie smiled. "Okay, Mommy."

Kate gave her husband a small smirk. "Consider yourself on notice…she will call; I'm sure of it."

"Yeah, so am I," Castle replied. "I feel like a marked man."

"Behave yourself and you won't have anything to worry about, Rick," Johanna quipped with a grin.

"You're so proud of yourself, Johanna."

"I am," she said with a nod. "I'm a proud grandmother."

"Yes, we know; your Facebook page is a testament to your pride," Castle remarked.

"My page is private; only family and select friends are seeing my pride," his mother-in-law said. "You just want to pick at me because your daughter told on you and left me with no choice but to tell your wife."

"You had a choice," he stated.

"My granddaughter's wellbeing comes before your love of spookiness, Rick."

Castle watched as his daughter darted off toward her toy box, their conversation no longer of any interest to her. "I still think you're both wrong in how to handle this Halloween and monsters situation."

Kate sighed, her hand moving against her lower back as the ache she was accustomed to from her pregnancy made itself known. "Rick; she's a little girl, she's afraid…and some of her fear is due partly to your questionable choice for entertainment. I think that we can respect her feelings this year and allow her more time to get used to how this holiday works."

"A lot of kids her age have some fear about certain parts of Halloween," Johanna added. "It's not unnatural."

"Alexis was never afraid of Halloween," he replied. "It's always been one of her favorite holidays. In order to have fun on Halloween, you have to have some spooks and scares…that's the whole point."

Johanna shook her head. "It doesn't have to be that way at all; you can have fun on Halloween with out being scared of your wits. Her fun comes from getting a costume and trick or treating; carving pumpkins, cute decorations, age appropriate Halloween shows."

"I think that's the kind of Halloween _you_ want her to have," Castle stated; "Because you don't like spooky things or scary movies or costumes that aren't cutesy."

Johanna gave him an incredulous look. "Rick; you act like you're trying to blame me for the way she feels. I never brought any of this up to McKenzie; when she's with us, we do the same things with her that we did with Katie; no they're not spooky or scary things, we tend to stick to the fun stuff; but she's the one who told me how she feels…while she was sitting in my bed crying in the middle of the night because she was scared of monsters and blood sucking vampires. She's the one who said Halloween was scary, that some of the decorations here made her feel afraid, that the monsters came out of the TV; that you think they're nice and fun and she doesn't. I didn't teach her to say any of that; those were her feelings. I had no idea that she was feeling that way until it came out in a nightmare."

"And you know she slept with us the night before," Kate added. "She's still little, she's not into all of this spooky Halloween stuff yet; it's no one's fault, it's just how she feels…although the horror movies didn't help, I'm sure."

He blew out a huff of annoyance. "So what are you saying, you never saw a horror movie until you were a teenager?"

"No," Kate answered; "I was ten when I first saw a horror movie; I watched it with my dad and my grandfather and some of my cousins, but the important thing about it is that it was a choice I was allowed to make for myself after discussing it with my parents. I said I was ready to try it and I did. I liked it and it didn't bother me…because I was old enough to grasp the concept of it."

"Well I grew up always watching horror movies on television," her husband remarked; "And I was fine."

"Good for you," she retorted; "But our daughter isn't fine with it."

Johanna's phone chimed just as she was trying to decide if she should leave or not. She laughed as she read the text on her phone. "Well kids, I'd love to stay and see how this squabble ends but I have to go pick up my husband."

"They didn't get the car fixed?" Kate asked.

"No; they need another part for it…but when Mikey towed the car over to Michael's so they could work on it today; he blocked Michael's car in with your father's…and since it isn't running, Michael can't get out to take your father to get the part," she laughed.

Kate laughed. "I bet Mikey's getting cussed."

"Most likely; but personally, that's what Michael gets for being an ass," Johanna remarked. "My husband says if I come get him and take him on his errand, he'll buy me lunch."

Kate smiled but decided to back up her mother's statement. "What did Michael do?"

"He wasn't happy that I was the one who answered the door yesterday," her mother replied; "And then when McKenzie said hello to him, he told her with some disdain 'you look just like your grandmother' and then turned his back on her. I took her in the house with me so I don't know what your father said to him about it but I know he said something…so they're probably not having a nice brotherly day together anyway. Michael probably didn't like that I pulled up in front of their house to drop Jim off."

"Okay, number one," Kate said; "He should know it's your house and there's a chance you're opening the door; and number two, who the hell does he think he is acting like it's a sin for my daughter to look like her grandmother; because my mother is beautiful and my daughter is beautiful and I…I'll just go over there with you and punch him, let's go."

Johanna laughed. "Rein in your hormones, sweetheart; if he needs punched I'm sure your father will beat us both to it; you know how he is."

She nodded. "He protects his women."

"That he does; so I better go get him…and piss of his brother some more with my existence. McKenzie; I'm leaving, sweetie; come give me hugs to hold me over until tomorrow."

"Where are you going, Grandma?" McKenzie asked as she hurried to her side.

"I have a date with Grandpa; we're going out to lunch," she told her as she stood and lifted her granddaughter into her arms.

Her granddaughter grinned. "Are you gonna kiss him?"

"I sure am; every chance I get."

McKenzie giggled. "You kiss Grandpa all the time."

"That's because I love him so much," she replied as she tickled her.

"Mommy; is that why you kiss Daddy all the time?"

"It sure is."

"I have a feeling your Daddy better hope he got plenty of kisses last night," Johanna stated; "Because I don't think he's getting many today."

"Johanna, I can't tell you how much I love it when you state the obvious," Castle quipped.

"I'm glad I could make your day, Rick."

He smirked at her. "You always do, Johanna."

"Thanks for babysitting last night," Kate told her.

"I'm always happy to babysit, you know that," she replied as she hugged her granddaughter. "Give me a kiss."

McKenzie kissed and hugged her again. "I love you, Grandma."

"I love you too, honey. I'll see you for costume shopping tomorrow," she told her as she sat her down and reached for Kate, pulling her into a hug. "Your turn," she quipped.

Kate laughed softly as she sank into her mother's hug. "Funny how I slipped down to second place once I gave you a grandchild."

"You know you're still my baby," Johanna murmured.

"I know. I love you."

"I love you too," she said; pressing a kiss to her cheek and then patted her daughter's stomach. "Bye, Mystery Baby. I love you."

"What about me?" Castle asked as Johanna began to move toward the door. "You've given love to everyone but me."

Johanna sighed dramatically as she moved toward her son-in-law; mischief gleaming in her eyes. "I suppose I can afford to hand out some charity," she teased; kissing the cheek that he leaned down to present her with.

His eyes gleamed in amusement. "I love you too, Johanna…although you haven't said to me."

"You know I love you," she replied as she headed for the stand near the door to grab her stuff. "I just don't tell you all the time because I don't want your head getting anymore swelled than it already is."

"I hope Jim makes you pay for lunch."

She grinned. "That's not how it works between us. See you all tomorrow."

"Bye, Grandma!"

"Be careful, Mom."

"I will; I'll call when I get home. See you tomorrow, McKenzie."

Johanna closed the door behind her and Kate gave McKenzie a gentle pat on her shoulder. "Go play with your toys while I talk to Daddy."

Castle sighed. "I feel like your mother should've stayed…I might need a lawyer."

Kate smirked at him. "Trust me, she wouldn't take your case."

"Yeah; I have that feeling too."


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: Thanks for your reviews!_

Chapter 3

Once their daughter was occupied with her toys, Castle and Kate moved further into the kitchen where they wouldn't be overheard. As soon as his wife turned to face him, Castle launched his defense of himself.

"Okay, look; if I had known that the movies were going to be an issue for McKenzie, I wouldn't have let her watch them but I honestly didn't think it would be a problem. Alexis never had a problem with that sort of thing. I explained before it started that everything in the movie was fake."

Kate raked a hand through her hair, aggravation licking her veins. "Castle; you can't expect her to fully understand how very real looking monsters are fake."

"Alexis always understood."

"I don't care what Alexis understood; we're talking about _our_ daughter, McKenzie Grace Castle. She's still a baby…we expect her to believe in Santa and the Easter Bunny and one day the Tooth Fairy and yet we also expect her to believe that these real looking creatures on TV are fake…and that's not really a plausible expectation for a little girl her age. If she believes in holiday idols, which I'm glad she does because I want her to have that magic of her childhood, then it stands to reason that she's going to believe there are monsters when she sees them on television."

"I can expect her to believe me when I tell her something isn't real," he stated. "That's all I ever had to do with Alexis and she was fine."

"McKenzie isn't Alexis."

"Yes, I know," he said in exasperation; "But that doesn't mean this has to be a big deal. We shouldn't be coddling this fear of Halloween; I mean sure, check under the bed and tell her there are no monsters but beyond that, we need to make her face it. We should move the cutesy decorations up to her room and put back the decorations I was told to put away."

Anger tightened her jaw. "So you want to put back the stuff that scares her so she can continue to be scared…all because you can't accept a child who doesn't love this holiday from birth?"

"I didn't say that but it's the only way she's going to get over it."

"I'd rather give her time," Kate replied; "Next year, she'll be four and she'll know what to expect and maybe won't have the fear she has this year; and if she does, then she can learn to face it, she'll be older then and able to grasp more of the concept. You put those decorations out in late September and Halloween is a week away, give or take a few days and they're still scaring her; so what good would it do to put them back and torment her more? She didn't ask you to put everything away; she didn't mention the witches or the spiders or the spider webs; those hideous bats. She mentioned a few select items that bother her. The only purpose that would be served by backtracking and putting those items back out would be showing her that her feelings don't matter and that her daddy lied about liking the things she picked out. You helped her put those things where she wants them; if you move them upstairs you will break her heart."

"No, we'd be showing her that she has to face her fear. They're inanimate objects; do you really want her to fear them? Isn't it a little much for her to be afraid of a decoration that's harmless?"

"No, I don't think it is at her age," she retorted; "She has an active imagination like her father so I have no problem thinking about how those simple objects can come to life in her mind and dreams. Don't you think it's a bit much when you scream like a little girl when you see a snake? Maybe it's time for you to face your fear…maybe I should get a snake and hang it around your neck so you can learn not to fear it. After all, even McKenzie touched the snake at that exhibit at the zoo. She didn't have any fear about that…but her daddy sure did."

"That's completely different."

'No, I don't think it is," his wife retorted.

"You're talking about a live reptile; I'm talking about holiday decorations and movie characters."

"A fear is a fear, Rick; you don't get to say that one is more justifiable than the other. She's a little girl; she's allowed to be afraid. She's allowed to feel the way she does. Why are you so up in arms about forcing her to accept the spooky side of Halloween?"

"Because that's what makes Halloween fun, Kate!"

"Not for everyone," she said with a shake of her head. "Not everyone does the haunted house thing or hangs up a ton of creepy looking decorations. She just wants to carve pumpkins, be a princess, get some candy and go on about life without getting scared in the process."

"Like your mother?" he asked; "With her cutesy decorations and dislike of horror movies and getting scared?"

"My mother has been scared by worse things than something jumping out on her at Halloween, as you well know. There's nothing wrong with her decorations; McKenzie likes them…I like them, just like I liked the ones she had when I was a kid. Not everyone has to celebrate Halloween in your way."

"That may be but I can't help but wonder if McKenzie is being resistant to the holiday and it's spooky fun because she's around your mother so much…maybe we should find other babysitters."

The anger that flashed in Kate's eyes made him wish he had bitten his tongue off. "Are you serious?" she seethed; "Are you really so against our child having a natural reaction to a holiday that you'd blame it on my mother and then try to break their bond by keeping them apart? Are you out of your damn mind? One of the things we talked about when I found out I was pregnant was making sure that McKenzie had a very stable environment despite my sometimes odd working hours and your books tours and everything in between. We agreed that the best place for her when we're both working was with my mother. My mother has watched her at least three days a week and a lot of time more than that since she was six weeks old…you will not even think of separating them over something this stupid. Do you know what that would do to McKenzie? She loves her grandmother; she loves her grandfather. She loves the cat. She's comfortable in their home; it's her home away from home and you won't pull her away from it just because you think she has to like everything that you like so you just get that idea out of your head right now because I will not allow it."

Castle sighed. "You're right; she shouldn't be taken from her comfort zone…but you have to admit; she does sometimes act like your mother."

"So do I!" Kate retorted; "You knew that was a possibility when you married me. As for McKenzie; she does have a few of her traits and expressions; but I don't view them as flaws as you obviously do. I view them as things that are being passed down through the lines…because of some of those traits and expressions are ones I have too. My mother isn't to blame for this; no she doesn't like scary movies and doesn't go for creepy décor; no she doesn't want things jumping out at her…she's always been that way; but she never made me comply to the way she liked things. When I was old enough, I was allowed to go to haunted houses and other creepy Halloween related events with relatives and with friends in my teenage years. She never tried to stop me just because it wasn't something she liked. She knows I take after Dad in that respect…but that doesn't mean that I never had any fears in regard to this season or things that are used to decorate for it."

"Name one," Castle stated; disbelief in his expression.

"Bats," she said without hesitation. "I've always been afraid of bats…and I don't like fake ones being used as decoration. I hate those damn things you have hanging up in your office, it gives me the creeps."

"Do you want me to take them down?"

"Oh no, I wouldn't want to put you out when the needs of our three year old already have; especially when I know how offended you get when someone doesn't like all of your décor for any given occasion. But I do hate them, just know that."

"Why are you afraid of bats?" he asked; "And why is it the first time I've heard of this?"

"Because you've never asked," she retorted; "And I've always been afraid of them, I'm not entirely sure why but I was and the feeling was set in stone when I was seven. I was staying with my grandparents, my Dad's parents, and a bat got into the house," she said with a small shiver. "My grandmother Elizabeth was also terrified of bats and said how they'd go for your hair and attack you; I know that's not entirely true but still, we were both terrified and shrieking every time it came near and then finally she grabbed me and we went out and sat in the car until Grandpa got it. We made him search the house before we'd go back in."

Castle laughed. "Seriously?"

"Yes! It's not funny; I hate them…they're terrifying little bastards."

"Wow," he said with an amused grin; "That's a lot of hate for a bat…who won't attack your hair."

"I know that," she hissed; "But I didn't when I was little."

"I can't believe you're afraid of bats," he laughed. "That takes some shine off your bad ass image, Kate."

She smirked at him. "No, I'm pretty sure the shine came off when I married you."

Amusement gleamed in his eyes. "Bats only hurt you if they feel attacked."

"Hey, Castle; go hug a snake."

"Snakes are worse than bats."

"No, they're not," she retorted; "But I'm not getting into a stupid argument about what's worse, bats or snakes. This isn't about me; it's about McKenzie and how no matter how you slice it, you were wrong to let her see those movies."

"Fine; I'll admit to that…although once again, in my defense I didn't think it would be a problem since I allowed Alexis to watch the same movies with me at a very young age and she was completely fine. But since it's an issue, I'll say I was wrong this time…but you're still going about this whole thing the wrong way. I don't want her to be the only kid in America who doesn't like Halloween…it's unnatural."

Kate shook her head. "She didn't say she dislikes all of it; she said she doesn't like the scary parts and she's not the only kid who feels that way."

"I think we should get her used to the scary part."

"We will, next year when she's older and can better grasp the concepts."

"Yeah, and then it'll be wait another year and another after that as you continue to give in to what decorations she wants around; and the next thing we'll know, we'll have a child like your mother, somewhat prissy and fearful."

"My mother isn't fearful," she hissed; "She just doesn't like certain things and she doesn't have to but she doesn't tell anyone they're wrong for liking something she doesn't. She isn't prissy either! If McKenzie ends up being like her in some way, it'll be as a highly intelligent woman who isn't afraid to speak her mind. Don't you apply those words to my mother again or insinuate that it's somehow bad for her granddaughter to share some traits with her. I thought you were over your issues with my mother."

"I am…but that doesn't mean I don't notice things."

"Seems to me that you want someone to blame McKenzie's fears on and you want it to be my mother," Kate retorted; "But it isn't my mother's decorations that McKenzie's afraid of. My mother didn't show her things of television that she's afraid of. The common denominator here is you; your creepy decorations. Your creepy movies. Your child is now scared. Blame yourself for some of it; the rest is a natural childhood reaction."

Castle pinched the skin between his eyes, feeling a slight headache building. "Clearly we're just going to go around in circles on this issue; so let's go to the next one."

Kate gave him an odd look. "I wasn't aware that we had another one; what is it?"

"The costume…this thing about being a princess all the time," he stated. "We should suggest that she be something different this time…maybe something a little more Halloween like that would help her get over her fear."

"She's not being the same thing," she said tartly; "I told you, she was Belle last year; this year she wants Cinderella…and when you get down to it, this is the first costume she's really picked on her own. I liked the Belle costume last year and we had just watched Beauty in the Beast together and I brought up her being Belle and she said yes; so that one is on me…but she picked Cinderella on her own; it's what she wants, it's a different princess; so quit acting like it's the same thing, it's not."

"Disney princesses are all mostly the same, Kate," he retorted; "Everything from her is princess, princess, princess…she needs to be something else. Something more fitting for the season."

"So what do you want to do, Rick; dress her up like a werewolf or a vampire that she's scared of? Is that what you want?"

"No; and technically, since she's a girl, she'd have to be a vampiress; but she could be a witch or a zombie girl or a mummy…Alexis was a mummy when she was four, it was adorable. She could be a ghost…she could be Bat Girl or Wonder Woman; any girl super hero. You'd think you'd want to encourage her to be something strong…and not some princess all the time."

Kate's brow rose. "What; you think a princess can't be strong? You think they're weak and simpering women? What the hell is wrong with you? Let's look at these stories, Castle; let's look at them from a real life point of view. Cinderella grew up in an abusive household where she was treated like a slave…but she didn't let it break her spirit or her heart. She got out…she fell in love, she married the man of her dreams and lived happily ever after. Belle was forced into a situation with a beast…but she was able to look inside and see that there could be goodness in him; she was able to bring that out in him and break the curse…a weak woman couldn't do that. Snow White was poisoned by a wicked queen who was jealous of her…but she survived, she didn't let it break her, she lived happily ever after too. Those are a few examples; but when you think about it; all of these princesses have had their tragedies…but they stayed strong and they didn't let it ruin who they were inside and that's what allowed them to have their happy ending."

"That may be; but they're not exactly strong role models that you think of right away," her husband remarked.

"My daughter has strong women in her life; she has a mother who is a detective…who has done everything she can to give victims justice and their families closure and who will be a Captain by this time next year. She has a grandmother who spent over twenty years as a lawyer, fighting for people's rights…a woman who got caught up in a case that could've cost her her life but she did what she had to do to survive and she came home and she slayed that dragon and is living her life to the fullest once again only as an educator now, molding a new generation of legal minds. She has another grandmother who gets on a Broadway stage several nights a week and performs with everything she has in her despite any critics in the audience plus runs a school to help shape another generation of actors. She has a sister who is studying forensic science because she wants to make a difference in the world and help crack cold cases and bring justice to those people. She has an honorary aunt in Lanie who is a doctor and a medical examiner who has helped crack numerous cases with her findings. She has another honorary aunt in Maggie; who was a lawyer in the same firm as my mother. She has a great aunt Valerie who was a nurse and then a stay at home mom. She has my cousins who are nurses, accountants, editors, mothers, business owners, just to name a few of their occupations. She knows Captain Gates; knows she's the boss of the precinct. McKenzie has strong women all around her every day…and she doesn't have to dress up like Wonder Woman to prove that she'll be one some day herself. She's a little girl who loves the idea of being a princess; just like most little girls do. Are you really going to stand there and say that Alexis never dressed up as a princess?"

"She did once when she was two," he replied; "After that the only princess she wanted to be was Princess Leia…maybe McKenzie could be Leia; that would keep with the princess theme."

"Except Leia doesn't wear a crown…and she wants a tiara, Rick. She wants Cinderella and that's who she's going to be."

"She could be Supergirl."

"Who's wearing the costume, you or her?"

He sighed. "I just want her to be something other than a princess again; and I know, spare me the repeat that it's a different princess."

"I find this funny coming from a man who has dressed up as a Space Cowboy numerous times in his life," Kate retorted.

"It's still cooler than a Disney Princess."

"It's not your costume; it's not your choice. It's McKenzie's choice and she's going to be Cinderella and if you don't like that, that's too bad for you."

"I just think we should encourage her to look outside of the world of Disney Princesses. Alexis never had this much of a princess obsession."

Kate looked at him incredulously. "Do you hear yourself? You keep comparing your daughters and acting like ours comes up short compared to Alexis. You act like she isn't as good as her sister."

"I've never said that," he snapped; "And I never would!"

"Then quit insinuating it! If I have to hear one more word about how well Alexis did everything compared to McKenzie, I'm going to blow a gasket."

"I'm just telling you how I parented Alexis and that she didn't have these issues."

"Well I don't care what you did with Alexis," she shot back; "Alexis isn't my kid; McKenzie is and I'm sorry that the daughter you have with me isn't living up to your expectations. I didn't realize she had to be a clone of her sister in order to have your favor."

"Kate," Castle said, gentling his tone. "It's not like that…I just think you're wrong about how to handle this."

Tears sprang to her eyes and she cursed her hormones. "Yeah," she said, her voice taunt; "You always think every parenting decision I make is wrong. It's been that way since day one…it goes away for awhile but then it always comes back, doesn't it? Because you think just because you raised the perfect Alexis that you have all the secrets. Well McKenzie isn't Alexis, and I'm not Meredith…and you don't get to have all the say in the children you have with me. But since our child's fears are so offensive to you, I'll sleep upstairs with her tonight so she'll feel safe and know that there aren't any monsters. I'll also go take a few minutes to myself so I can let this go and then I'm going to go watch the Great Pumpkin with my daughter and then we're going to carve funny faces on the pumpkins and if you don't want to be a part of that, you don't have to be. We wouldn't want to disgrace you by not living up to the Castle standard of Halloween…we Beckett women are just different, you know…we're always different. So I think we're done with this discussion, I have better things to do."

He reached for her and pulled her against him despite her trying to squirm away from him. "Kate; I don't always think you're wrong…I just don't want her to be fearful; you're not a fearful person and neither am I so I don't want her to be one."

"We're adults, Castle; and I assure you that I've been afraid plenty of times both as a child and as an adult and so have you so don't give me that bullshit. This is about you wanting her to like everything you like just like Alexis does. Well she doesn't have to and I'm not wrong for wanting to give her time to grow. Why rush her? She has time to learn; we don't have to make her do everything our way. She has to know that it's okay to be different; that it's okay to be afraid sometimes. It's okay to tell someone that she's uncomfortable with something. Allowing her to say 'hey, I don't like that, it scares me' teaches her that she has the right to say that and the right to have her feelings respected…and if teaching her that makes me a bad parent, so be it."

"You're not a bad parent; you're a wonderful mother," he told her. "I just…I feel strongly about this."

"So do I," Kate said as she pushed away from him; "And I'm not going to let you shove this holiday down her throat in a way she's not comfortable with. She'll do it on her terms; not yours."

"Maybe we should talk about it more tomorrow once you've cooled off," he suggested; "You're getting riled and I know the pregnancy hormones are playing into that and it doesn't make you entirely rational."

Kate shook her head. "You're lucky my gun is locked in the safe because if it wasn't, I might just shoot you in the ass for that remark, Castle."

"In hindsight I realize it wasn't the best statement to make; I'm sorry," he replied; "Really sorry."

"Uh huh…tell me, did you decide on your costume?"

He smiled. "Yeah; I'm going to be Dracula."

Kate smirked at him. "I've got a better costume in mind for you."

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

A smile graced her lips. "A jackass…you'd fit in that costume really well. I'll see if they have any at the store tomorrow and pick you up one."

He smiled and gave a slight nod of his head. "I suppose I deserved that one for the hormone mention. I think after you have your few minutes to yourself; I'll go write and let you and McKenzie watch the Great Pumpkin as your girl time…she and I can watch it again later on it if she wants."

"Fine," Kate replied. "At least I won't have to worry about her being scared after watching that with you."

"I swear I'll never show her another scary movie."

"That's a promise you better keep," she said tartly.

"Trust me, it is," he said before she turned on her heel and headed for their bedroom. He sighed, his gaze drifting toward his daughter who was deep into her playtime with her Barbies. It was his worst nightmare; a child who didn't share his love of all things spooky…but he loved her anyway; and he was sure that maybe she could somehow be swayed as her mother often was.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: Thanks for your reviews!_

Chapter 4

Later on that afternoon as they were cuddled together on the couch watching The Great Pumpkin, Kate smiled at her daughter's giggles as she watched the antics of the Peanuts gang on the screen. Despite the joy that her daughter's laughter brought her, she was still a little concerned about how she was feeling in regard to monsters and Halloween fueled creepiness.

"Mommy," McKenzie said, breaking into her thoughts.

"What, baby?"

"Grandma said you used to watch this when you were a little girl like me."

"That's right, I did; you know what else?"

"What?"

"Grandma has loved Snoopy and the gang since she was a little girl like you. Do you know how you look at the comic strip in the newspaper?"

"Uh huh."

"When Grandma was a little girl, her Daddy used to read her the words while she looked at the pictures; and then when she got bigger and could read by herself, she read it every day. She still reads it every day."

"Grandma reads it to me!" McKenzie stated.

"I know; that's why Mommy reads it to you when you're not there, so you won't miss anything," Kate said with a laugh.

"Did Grandma read it to you when you were a little girl like me?"

"Yes; every morning at breakfast."

"Grandpa likes Snoopy too," McKenzie declared.

"You're right, he does."

"I'm glad Grandpa saved Scarlett; I love her a lot," she said, shifting the focus of the conversation.

Kate pressed a kiss to the top of her daughter's head. "Grandpa wouldn't let anything hurt Scarlett or you or Grandma…but I promise there aren't any monsters, sweetie."

"I know, Grandpa got rid of them but I still sleeped in Grandma's room."

"It's okay that you slept in Grandma's room; you were scared and needed to feel safe. Grandma and Grandpa protect you and love you."

"Like you do, Mommy."

"That's right; they love you just as much as I do. Grandma told me you were worried about me last night."

"Uh huh; I was 'fraid the monster might come out of the TV and get you," her daughter answered.

"No monster is going to get me, Baby; I promise you that."

"But what if a monster did try to get you?"

"I'd beat him up," Kate told her, giving her a squeeze. "I'd punch him right in the nose."

McKenzie giggled. "That would be funny."

"It would be; and after I punched him in the nose, I'd kick him…he'd be sorry he came around here."

McKenzie looked up at her. "Would you shoot him with your gun?"

"If it was a big scary monster that I couldn't stop any other way, then yes, I would shoot him…but only if I really had to. You know that Mommy can only use her gun when she really has to, right?"

"Uh huh; and it's not for little girls. Little girls don't touch guns."

"That's right," Kate replied; thinking about how she made sure the first thing she did upon getting home every evening was to make sure her gun was locked in the small wall safe Castle had installed in their bedroom.

"Grandma said monsters would be scared of you."

Kate smiled. "She's right, monsters would be afraid of me."

"Did monsters ever scare you, Mommy?"

She shifted a little so that she could see her daughter's face better. "Yes; when I was little, I was afraid of monsters too…but my mommy and daddy kept me safe. Grandpa always searched my room when I thought there was a monster but he never found any; because they weren't there."

"Grandpa said he don't let monsters in the house because Grandma's scared of them."

"Grandma's not a fan of monsters, that's for sure…and Grandpa loves her so much that he keeps them away; and he loves me and you that much too, that's why he keeps us safe from monsters."

"How come he doesn't find any when they come? Do they run from him?"

"Maybe," Kate said; "But most of the time, I'm pretty sure he doesn't find them because they aren't there. Nighttime can be a little scary; it's dark and sometimes you hear noises or see shadows; do you know what happens then?"

"What?"

"We have this thing in our brains called 'imagination' and it starts to tell us a story…and when things feel scary, our imagination tells us a scary story and makes us think there's a monster in the dark but there isn't."

"But what if he is there?"

"If he was there, we'd find him."

"What if he's visible?"

Kate gave a soft laugh despite herself. "If he was visible, we'd be able to see him."

"No, Mommy; visible…no one can see him cause he's visible."

"You mean 'invisible'," she explained; "If you can't see something, it's invisible…but if there is a monster and he's invisible; then he's not worth being afraid of."

"How come?"

"Because if he's afraid of being seen by us, then he's just a big chicken," she told her. "We're not afraid of chickens, are we?"

"No," her daughter giggled.

"Then you see, you don't need to worry about invisible monsters…which is definitely something your daddy would think up."

"Daddy likes monsters," McKenzie stated, snuggling closer. "Daddy thinks they're fun."

"Does it upset you that Daddy likes monsters on TV?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me why?" Kate asked.

"Because they scare me…Daddy's supposed to 'tect me from monsters."

"Daddy will always protect you from monsters; he wouldn't ever let anything hurt you. Daddy loves you so much."

"Daddy showed me the monsters," McKenzie stated, a shiver going through her little body at the remembrance. "He thinks they're fun…but they're not. They mean and scary."

"Daddy's not going to show you monsters anymore."

"But he still likes them."

Kate gave her a small smile. "That's true, Daddy does like monster movies; but that's okay, because those monsters on TV weren't real."

"They look real."

"I know, honey; but that's how movies are, you know that. Daddy likes monster movies and scary movies at Halloween but he shouldn't have showed them to you. He knows now that they scare you so he won't do it anymore; but he's allowed to still like them. A lot of grown ups like scary movies."

"Why?"

"Because they think it's fun to get scared."

"I don't like being scared," McKenzie replied.

"I know; Mommy doesn't always like being scared either. But I promise you that Daddy would always protect us…just like Grandpa does."

"I don't know…"

In a way, she couldn't blame her for being doubtful; after all, her father was the one who had put the idea of monsters into her mind. "Tonight, before you go to bed; Daddy and I will search your room and make sure there aren't any monsters and that there isn't any way for them to get in, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy…but what if it's still scary?"

"How about just for tonight, I'll sleep in your room with you so you'll know that everything is okay and that it's the same as it's always been. Would that make you feel better?"

"Yes…can we leave the light on?"

She wasn't sure she'd be able to sleep with the lamp on in McKenzie's room but they could make a compromise. "What if we send Daddy out to get you a nightlight? We can plug it in your room and it'll give you a little bit of light but won't keep you awake, would that be okay?"

"Like in the hallway?"

"Yes; like the one we have in the hallway so you can find the bathroom."

"I think I want a nightlight, Mommy."

"Okay; if that will make you feel better, we'll get you one," she said before calling for her husband. "Castle."

A few moments later, he stepped out of his office and into the room. "Do my ladies need something?" he asked.

"We need you to run an errand," Kate replied.

"Let me guess, you need ice cream?" he said with a grin.

"No."

"Pickles?"

"No," she said with a smirk, knowing he was taking a little dig at her recent craving for pickles. "McKenzie wants a nightlight for in her bedroom; will you go get one for her?"

He glanced at his daughter. "You've never been afraid of the dark before."

"Monsters won't come out if the light is on," McKenzie told him.

"Oh, I see," he replied; "Alright, I'll get you a nightlight, jellybean."

"A pretty one," his daughter stated.

"Of course; only the prettiest nightlight for my girl," he told her.

Kate caught her husband's eye. "And tonight, before she turns out her lights, you're going to help me search her room for monsters; and we're going to make sure there's no way they can get in."

He nodded. "You got it; Daddy will check under the bed and in the closet; Mommy will check the corners."

"Mommy's sleeping upstairs with me," McKenzie declared.

His gaze shifted to his wife. "You were serious?"

"Yes!"

"Just checking…although I hope it doesn't become a habit."

"It's just for tonight," she said, her tone somewhat firm; "So she knows everything is alright."

"Okay," he replied; knowing better than to argue when she was in mama bear mode. "I'll go get that nightlight. Do we need anything else?"

"Skittles," McKenzie exclaimed.

"Nightlight and a pack of skittles; got it," he said as he turned to head back to the office to get his keys and his wallet.

"Castle," Kate called after him.

"Yeah?"

"I'll take the ice cream after all."

He smiled. "Which flavor…or should I just get them all?"

She smirked at him. "Get one that has strawberry, vanilla and chocolate all in the same container."

"No problem…I'll go ahead and pick up some pickles too and spare you a phone call."

"Fine…you wouldn't want to pick up a pizza for dinner, would you…because I'm suddenly craving pepperoni pizza," Kate admitted with a sheepish smile.

He laughed. "Yeah; I'll stop and get pizza. Anything else?"

"That's all for now; but if we think of something, we'll call."

Castle nodded and went and grabbed his phone, keys and wallet and then left, promising to be back as soon as possible.

"Alright, Kenzie," Kate said as she shifted once again, trying to make herself more comfortable; "We're getting you a nightlight and we'll search your room; anything else upsetting you?"

McKenzie played with the hem of her shirt. "Is Daddy mad at me cause I don't like scaries?"

"No, Baby; Daddy's not mad at you," she soothed. "It's okay that you don't like some of the decorations and those things on TV. Everyone is different and everyone is allowed to like what they want to like."

"Daddy wants me to like scary things."

"That's just because he loves Halloween and he wants you to love it too."

"I just like the fun parts."

"That's okay," Kate assured; "One day, when you're a bigger girl, you might like the things Daddy likes about Halloween; but it's okay that you don't right now."

"You promise?"

"I promise," she said; pressing a kiss against her hair.

"I don't think Daddy likes princesses," McKenzie stated.

"Sure he does."

She shook her head. "I don't think he does; he don't want me to be Cindaella and she's a princess."

"Daddy was just giving you other ideas but you're going to be Cinderella just like you want," Kate replied.

"Mommy; do princesses get scared?"

"Of course they do, sweetie; but you know what?"

"What?"

"Princesses are also brave; sometimes they're scared but they tell themselves to be brave and they face what scares them."

"A princess would look for the monster?"

She nodded. "She might if it was really important…and I bet she'd fight that monster and win because she was brave and she wouldn't want to be scared of that monster anymore."

"The monster would go away?"

"He would; the princess would slay the monster…princesses are strong and brave and they can do anything if they just put their mind to it."

"Mommy; is there a storybook about a princess fighting a monster?"

"I don't know, honey; I'll have to check and see. If there is, we'll get it."

"I would like that story," McKenzie replied.

"Me too," Kate said with a smile. "Do you want to talk about the bad dream you had last night?"

"Monsters were chasing me and that vampire was gonna suck my blood," her daughter replied; "But Grandma said sometimes dreams do scary things."

"That's right; dreams get scary sometimes but they're not real. You've been having those dreams because you keep thinking about those monsters on TV…and most likely because of that vampire of Daddy's that was on the stand; but when you stop thinking so much about them, I bet that dream will go away."

"Grandma says think happy thoughts."

She smiled. "That's what she always tells me when I have a bad dream too."

McKenzie looked up at her. "You tell Grandma your bad dreams too?"

Kate nodded. "Of course; Grandma's my mommy…and our mommies are supposed to make us feel better. When I feel sad or scared, even though I'm all grown up and I'm your mommy; I still tell my mommy because she makes me feel better."

"Grandma makes me feel better too."

"I'm glad; we're lucky to have her."

"Uh huh; she's the bestest grandma ever."

"You're right, she is," Kate murmured; a tug of emotion pulling at her. Once in awhile it still crept up on her that they almost hadn't had Johanna in their lives; that if Bracken had had his way; her little girl would've never known her grandmother's love…wouldn't have a mother who was truly healed of the wounds of the past. Or even worse; if Bracken had succeeded in eliminating both Beckett women, the sweetest little girl would've never been. Kate closed her eyes and pulled her daughter even closer, holding her tightly.

"You sad, Mommy? You need Grandma? I can call her, I knows the number."

The statement was just what she needed to pull her away from those melancholy thoughts, Kate mused as she laughed softly. "No, sweetheart; I'm not sad; I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have you and Grandma; but I'm glad that she taught you her phone number, that's a good thing for you to know."

"I'm going to learn your number too," McKenzie told her. "Grandma's going to teach me."

"Good; you learn everything she wants to teach you."

"Grandma told me a story last night when I sleeped in her room."

"Did she?"

"Uh huh, and I went to sleep with happy thoughts."

Kate smiled. "What story did Grandma tell you?"

"It was about a princess who wanted to get married but she had to find a prince."

"Oh yeah? Tell me what happened."

"The princess left her forest and went to the city and she found a prince but he didn't have a white horse."

"He didn't?"

"No," McKenzie said, her eyes glittering with excitement; "He had a blue 'maro."

She laughed. "I think you mean Camaro and I have a feeling I know this story."

"Did Grandma tell it to you too?"

"Maybe; tell me more about it."

"The princess and the prince were friends but the princess wanted to get married; she wanted the prince to live in the castle with her so she won't be lonely and so he could kill bugs."

"Yep; it's definitely ringing a bell," Kate said. "Go on."

"The prince was 'tubborn'…"

"Stubborn," she gently corrected.

"Yeah; that's what I said," McKenzie replied; "The prince was 'tubborn and so was the princess. The prince turned into a frog!"

"He did, did he?" she said in amusement.

"Uh huh; and the princess, she had to kiss him a lot to make him into a prince again; and then the prince loved her and they got married."

"It's a good thing he stopped being stubborn," Kate said; thinking about the text she was going to send her mother, commending her on her fairy tale version of her love life as a bedtime story.

"Yep; and you know what?"

"What?"

"When they got married then they were a queen and a king and they had a baby princess."

"Did they?"

"Yep; and then when the princess grow'd up; she got married and had a baby princess too!"

"Wow, that's a great story," Kate replied; "Sounds like everyone lived happily ever after."

"Those are the best kind of stories," McKenzie said with a nod.

"I think so too…did Grandma tell you what that princess's name was?"

"No; do you know the princess's name?"

She smiled; running her hand over McKenzie's dark curls. "That first princess at the beginning of the story; her name is Johanna."

"That's Grandma's name!"

"I know…and that baby princess they had; her name is Katie."

"That's what Grandma and Grandpa call you!"

"I know; and that baby princess that Princess Katie had; her name is McKenzie."

McKenzie's eyes gleamed with excitement. "That's my name! I'm a princess! And you're a princess! And Grandma's a princess!"

"Grandma's the Queen."

"I'm so excited! I want to tell Daddy I'm a princess."

"He already knows," Kate replied; "You're our little princess; just like I'm my mommy and daddy's princess. All little girls are their mommy and daddy's princess."

"I like princess stories," McKenzie said with a happy sigh. "Princesses are nice."

"Yeah; they are nice," Kate answered; while thinking to herself that she was happy for her little girl to stay in that innocent world of princesses and fairy tales for as long as she could before she met the harsh realties of the world.

McKenzie wrapped her small arms around the swell of her mother's stomach in effort to cuddle closer, only to jerk backwards as she felt a small kick against her cheek. "That baby in there kicked me, Mommy!"

"Oh, sweetie, the baby didn't mean to kick you," she told her, rubbing her cheek. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah; but that wasn't nice."

"I'm sure the baby's sorry," she said, putting her hand on her stomach to rub the spot the baby was kicking in. "Don't kick your sister, Mystery Baby."

"Why did that baby do that?"

"Well, it probably felt you leaning against my belly and it wanted to say hi to you," Kate explained. "I bet the baby was listening to you tell me Grandma's story and it liked it."

McKenzie smiled and allowed her mother to put her hand against the place where the baby kicked. "Get real close and tell the baby hello; tell it that you're its big sister McKenzie."

"Hi, Baby," McKenzie said, leaning close to her mother's stomach. "I'm McKenzie; I'm your big sister. Don't kick me in the face again or you'll be in trouble! That's not nice!"

The baby kicked beneath their hands and Kate smiled. "Feel the baby moving? It hears you."

"Be a nice baby," McKenzie instructed; "I won't let monsters get you."

"That's so sweet of you," Kate murmured, cursing her hormones as tears pricked her eyes.

"Mommy?"

"What?"

"Is it a girl baby or a boy baby?"

"It's a surprise," she answered. "You won't know until it's born."

"But me and Grandma want to know now."

"Oh I know Grandma wants to know," she said with a laugh; "But you both have to wait."

"How much longer?"

"You've still got awhile to wait, sweetie; you have to wait until after Christmas."

McKenzie frowned at the thought of a long wait. "Can I give the baby a kiss?"

"Sure you can," she replied; "Go ahead."

McKenzie kissed her mother's stomach and then snuggled into her side, out of range of her sibling's kicks. "Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"Are we still going to carve pumpkins?"

"Yes, right after dinner."

"It can be a funny face?"

"The funnier the better," she told her. "Do you feel any better?"

"Yeah…but I still don't want a scary Halloween; just a fun one."

"Okay, sweetheart; we'll just have a fun Halloween this year," Kate promised. "I won't let you get scared."

"Good; I love you, Mommy."

"I love you too, Baby; more than anything."

* * *

That evening, Castle was waiting in McKenzie's bedroom when Kate brought her in from her bath, clad in her favorite Hello Kitty pajamas. He smiled at her choice, thinking about the nightlight he had removed from the packaging as he waited for them. "You're going to be glad you picked your Hello Kitty pajamas," he said happily.

"Why, Daddy?"

"Because now you match your new Hello Kitty nightlight," he told her with a smile as he picked up the object from the dresser and showed it to her.

McKenzie clapped her hands happily. "I like that nightlight, Daddy!"

"I thought you might," he replied; "As soon as I saw it; I said 'that's the nightlight my jellybean will love'. Now we'll plug it in this outlet and turn it on," he said as he leaned down to plug it in. "Mommy can turn out the lights and let you see what it'll look like."

Kate turned off the lights so they could observe the glow. "I think that's a decent amount of light from a dim bulb," she commented; feeling it would provide the amount of comfort their daughter needed.

"What do you think, McKenzie?" Castle asked. "Will you feel better with this light?"

"Yes, Daddy; thank you."

He smiled as Kate turned the lights back on. "You're welcome. Now that your nightlight has passed inspection, I'll check under your bed and in the closet for monsters…I'm sure we won't find any, but we'll check to be on the safe side."

"Okay," McKenzie replied, her hand slipping into her mother's.

Castle got down on the floor beside McKenzie's bed and looked under it. "No monsters under here…but here's that shoe we couldn't find."

"The pink one?" Kate asked.

"Yeah," he said as he pulled it out and held it up.

"Thank God; the missing pink shoe mystery was driving me crazy," she replied.

"Wait, there's more…here's some socks; most likely the mates of those lonely soles laying on the dryer."

Kate sighed as she looked at her daughter. "Have you been putting your socks under the bed?"

"I don't know," she answered.

"You don't know?"

McKenzie shook her head. "I don't 'member doing that."

"Uh huh," Kate said as her husband pulled five socks out from under the bed. "I have a feeling that you do remember…just like I remember how much you don't like to wear socks."

"Careful," Castle warned playfully; "She knows her lawyer's phone number."

His wife gave a short laugh. "That's true. Anything else under there?"

"Yes," he said, stretching his arm back under the bed. "I owe you an apology."

Her brow furrowed. "Why?"

"Remember last week when I bought McKenzie and I each a box of Animal Crackers and my box went missing?"

"Yeah; and you accused me of eating them and I didn't."

"Yes; I know that now," he said, pulling the small circus themed box out from under the bed and held it up.

"McKenzie, did you take Daddy's Animal Crackers?" Kate asked.

She shook her head. "Grammy gave them to me."

Castle eyed his daughter. "When?"

"When her watched me," McKenzie said, tossing her hands up in the air as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "I wanted cookies but we didn't have no more. She gave me those."

"Didn't you tell her that they were Daddy's Animal Crackers?" Castle asked.

"Yes."

"What did Grammy say?"

"She said Animal Crackers are for little girls and boys, not overgrown men."

Kate laughed. "That does sound like Martha."

"Grammy said it would be our secret."

Castle nodded. "It does sound like our resident redheaded diva and she will be questioned," he remarked as he got up from the floor.

"Grammy said if you really wanted those Animal Crackers, you would've ate them when you got them like I did," McKenzie declared.

"Daddy was saving them," he replied.

"Grammy said I could have them so I ate them."

"That doesn't mean that you shove the empty box under the bed," Kate told her. "You put it in the trash can."

"But then Daddy might see it and know the secret!"

"That's a chance you have to take," her mother replied. "Garbage goes in the trash can, you know that."

"Yes, Mommy."

Castle tossed the empty box into the small trash can near McKenzie's nightstand and then scooped up the socks and put them in the clothes hamper. "Under the bed is monster free…laundry free…and secret free now," he declared; "Although maybe we should schedule periodic checks to make sure it stays that way."

"I think we probably should," Kate agreed.

"Now for the closet," Castle said, carrying the pink shoe with him so that he could put it with its mate. He opened the closet doors and put the shoe in its place. "You probably don't have to worry about monsters ever being in your closet," he stated; "You have so many clothes hanging in here that a monster wouldn't be able to breathe long…and you've got as many pairs of shoes as your Mommy and Grandma; a monster wouldn't have anywhere to stand."

"Check anyway, Daddy."

"I'm checking, jellybean," he said; making a show of pulling the clothes aside and looking behind them; leaning in to check the far back corners and even looked around the shoes. "Good news, no monsters in here. Now Mommy can check the rest of the room."

McKenzie moved to her father's side, her fingers curling around his as Kate moved through the room, looking behind the Barbie dream house and inside the toy chest. She searched the corners, checked behind stuffed animals and the small bookcase crammed full of storybooks. She made sure the window was locked tightly and then moved to the bedroom door and checked behind it. She carefully eyed the toys strewn around the room; checked behind the headboard of her bed. She was slow and methodical; performing her duties with the same care she gave to her work. When she finished her search, she smiled at her daughter. "No monsters, sweetheart."

"Will you still stay with me tonight, Mommy?" she asked. "In case they come back?"

Kate nodded. "Yes; I'll stay with you tonight…but tomorrow night you have to try it on your own again, okay?"

"Okay."

"Unless she wants to try it on her own tonight," Castle said. "I'm sure with your nightlight on, you'll be fine…you could always come get us if you need us."

"I want Mommy to stay; monsters are scared of her."

"Says who?" he asked.

"Grandma."

"I wouldn't dare contradict anything Grandma said," he remarked.

"Good idea," Kate told him; "And I will be staying up here with McKenzie for the night like I've been telling you all day."

"But is that helpful?" he asked while she pulled back the covers on the bed.

"How is it not helpful?"

"Because she'll come to expect this every night."

"No, she won't; I just explained to her that I'm staying up here with her just for tonight and that tomorrow she has to try it on her own."

"And do you really think she's going to stay there all night tomorrow?"

Kate eyed him. "Yes; because she'll know there's nothing to fear. This might come as a shock to you, Castle; but there were times when I slept in my parents room when I was scared…there were times when Mom slept in my room to comfort me when I was upset. It always went back to normal the next night; no harm done…it was just reinforced that I was loved and could ask for comfort."

"I understand," he said slowly; "I just think it would be easy for this to turn into a habit."

"It's one night," she stated; "And please remember what gave her the nightmares in the first place…and who's responsible for that."

He smiled. "You're right, one night won't hurt…but uh…her bedtime is earlier than yours."

Kate smirked at him. "First of all, we're going to read for a little while; and second, I'm the mother of a toddler and I'm pregnant; an excuse to be in bed before nine is the best thing about this whole situation."

"When you put it like that, I understand completely," her husband replied. "It's like a little unexpected mommy gift."

"Right; so don't ruin my moment," she laughed before shifting her gaze to her daughter. "Time to get in bed so Daddy can say goodnight to you."

McKenzie went dutifully to her mother's side and climbed into her bed. "Where's my bear?" she asked.

"Right here," Castle said, picking up her teddy bear from the small child sized rocking chair he had placed it in when he had brought it upstairs while she had been getting her bath.

"Thank you, Daddy," she said, accepting her bear. "Where's Gracie?"

"Sweetie, since I'm sleeping here with you," Kate said; "How about we let Gracie sleep in her baby bed?"

"Will she be safe from monsters there?" her daughter asked.

"I promise she'll be safe."

"Can I tuck her in?" McKenzie asked.

"Sure, you can put your baby to bed," Kate replied, helping her back out of her bed. She smiled as she watched McKenzie pick her baby doll up from the chair and carry her to the small doll cradle she had gotten for her birthday. She kissed Gracie and whispered 'love you, night night' to her before she carefully laid her in her bed and pulled the doll sized blanket over her.

"Gracie sleeping now," she said as she moved back to her bed.

"You did a good job, you're a good mommy," Kate told her.

"Like you, Mommy," McKenzie replied.

"I'm glad you think so," she murmured as she helped her back into her bed.

"How could she not?" Castle asked softly as he moved toward the bed to say goodnight to his daughter. "Do you need me to check anything else for you tonight?" he inquired as he perched on the edge of the bed.

"Did you check downstairs?" McKenzie asked.

"I checked all over while Mommy was helping you with your bath; no monsters anywhere. The door is locked and so are the windows. We are completely safe from monsters."

"Okay."

"If you and Mommy need me, you let me know."

"I will, Daddy."

"Oh good, I'm not too late," Martha said as she swept into the room.

"Grammy!" McKenzie said excitedly. "You're home!"

"I am," she said as she rounded the bed to accept her granddaughter's hug and to kiss her cheek. "How's my girl?"

"I'm fine; I didn't know you were coming home, Grammy."

"Well, let me tell you why I hurried home," Martha said, placing a plastic bag on the nightstand before nudging her son so she'd have room to sit down.

"By all means, Mother; take my seat," he said as he scooted down the bed.

"Thank you, darling, I will," she replied without batting an eyelash as she settled down near her granddaughter. "Do you know who I saw today when I was having lunch?" she asked McKenzie.

"Who?" the little girl asked.

"Your Grandma and Grandpa."

McKenzie smiled. "You did?"

"I did; and they invited me to sit with them while I was waiting for my friend so I sat down at their table and your Grandma told me that you were having some troubles at nighttime."

"Uh huh; monsters try to get me," she told her solemnly.

"Yes; that's what she told me…and she told me why you've been thinking about monsters," Martha said, flicking her wrist gracefully as she swatted her son without looking.

"Of course Johanna told," Castle muttered as he rubbed his chest.

"As she should," Martha remarked. "Anyway; after talking with your Grandma, I thought maybe it would be best if I made sure to be home tonight before you went to sleep so you'd feel extra safe from monsters."

"I'm glad you're home, Grammy," her granddaughter said as she reached for another hug.

"Me too, kiddo; do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because you give the best goodnight hugs," she told her, giving her a squeeze. "Grandma also told me how you feel about the scary parts of Halloween."

"I just want a fun Halloween," McKenzie declared.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Martha declared; "Fun is one of the most important things in life, I highly recommend the fun side of life."

"What about the theft of Animal Crackers, where do you stand on that, Mother?" Castle asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Richard."

"Oh I think you do," he said; "I found my missing box of Animal Crackers under McKenzie's bed…empty of course; and when pressed, she said you had given them to her."

"Well of course I did," Martha told him. "Animal Crackers are for children, not overgrown men."

"I told you so!" McKenzie declared with a sassy look.

"And besides; if you had really wanted them, you would've ate them when you bought them."

"Told you so!" his daughter said once more.

Castle glanced to Kate who was settling in beside McKenzie on the opposite side of the bed. "It's amazing; you managed to give me a child who is both of our mothers rolled into one."

Martha smirked at him. "Well then that explains why she's gorgeous, highly intelligent and full of star quality potential."

Kate smiled. "Can't argue with that."

"I wouldn't argue with those terms but I might argue about who she inherited them from and focus on the ones I had in mind regarding her grandmothers."

Martha eyed him. "Are you suggesting that Johanna and I aren't the things I described?"

He gave her a smile. "I wouldn't dare suggest such a thing."

"You better not," she said before turning back to her granddaughter. "After lunch, I was doing a little window shopping and I stopped by the bookstore and got you a nice Halloween story," Martha said as she picked up the bag she had laid down and took out the book she had bought.

"It's Clifford!" McKenzie exclaimed as she took the book. "Thank you, Grammy."

"You're welcome, darling," Martha replied, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Look, Mommy; it's a Halloween story about Clifford the Big Red Dog."

"I see that," Kate said; "Now we have a new story to read tonight."

"I have a feeling it might be two new stories," Martha said, reaching into the bag and pulling out another storybook and presenting it to McKenzie. "I thought you'd like this one because it's about little cats dressing up for Halloween and going trick or treating."

"Thank you, Grammy," her granddaughter said with a smile as she took the second book as well.

"Enjoy them, darling," Martha said softly. "And don't you worry; I'll be right across the hallway all night if you need me."

"Okay."

Castle glanced to Kate. "Since Mother's home and staying for the night; you could…"

"I'm staying up here like I promised her," she said, cutting off his words.

"Richard; are you digging yourself a hole tonight?" his mother asked.

"He's been digging since about noon," Kate remarked.

Martha turned toward her son. "It's time to put your shovel down, kiddo."

He smiled. "Thank you, Mother."

"Anytime. Now, I'm going to go get settled in for the night and let you hear your bedtime stories," Martha told McKenzie. "Give me a goodnight kiss and hug."

McKenzie complied without hesitation. "Night, Grammy; love you."

"I love you too, my sweet girl," she told her before rising from the side of the bed and made her way to her daughter-in-law's side. "Kate," she whispered; "If you'd need a break at some point in the night, come wake me and I'll come over with her and you can sleep awhile in my room and we'll switch back before she gets up."

Kate smiled and squeezed her hand in appreciation. "Thanks, Martha; I'll keep that in mind."

"It's not a problem, dear; goodnight."

"Goodnight, Martha."

Castle returned to his daughter's side. "Now that Grammy's had her turn; do you think I can get a goodnight kiss and hug from my favorite jellybean?"

McKenzie giggled. "Yes, Daddy."

Castle hugged his daughter tightly and accepted her goodnight kiss. "I love you," he told her.

"Love you too, Daddy."

He smiled and hugged her a little tighter. "Sweet dreams, I'll see you in the morning."

"Night," she replied.

Castle rounded the bed to where his wife was and smiled, noting her phone on the nightstand. "If you get lonely, call me."

"Do you really think I'm going to be awake long after she goes to sleep?" Kate asked in amusement. "This is my shot at an early bedtime, remember?"

"Right; but in case it doesn't come as easily as you think…I'm just a call or text away."

"I'll keep it in mind," she replied.

"I'll be lonely without you," he stated.

"Still staying here tonight."

"But who's going to protect me?" Castle questioned with a teasing grin.

"Well, Castle," his wife said with an amused smirk; "I guess you'll just have to go protect yourself…and then maybe you'll make better entertainment choices for our child."

"I'm going to quit while I'm ahead," he stated, leaning down to kiss her goodnight. "I love you, remember that."

"Oh I do," Kate remarked; "I love you too…despite your questionable choices."

"I appreciate it. Does anybody need anything?"

"No; I see you already brought us each a glass of water," his wife said, spying the small glass of water on each nightstand. "We've got new stories to read, the nightlight is plugged in and the place has been searched. I think we're good to go."

"Alright then," he said with a nod. "I'll see you girls in the morning. Goodnight."

"Night, Daddy," McKenzie said, snuggling close to her mother as he left the room. "I'm ready to read now, Mommy."

"Alright; which one do you want to start with?"

"Hmm…let's read the kitty book first."

Kate smiled and shifted a little, making herself comfortable as she opened the book and began to read.

* * *

Awhile later after both of the new stories had been read and she'd been wheedled into reading an old favorite as a third selection, Kate brushed her fingertips across McKenzie's forehead, seeing the signs of unmistakable sleepiness. "Are you ready to turn out the light and go to sleep, Baby?" she murmured.

McKenzie shook her head as she rubbed her eye.

"Why not, honey? Everything's okay."

Her daughter met her eye. "Can I talk to Grandpa?"

"Grandpa?"

"Uh huh; I need to ask him something; it's 'portant."

"You need to ask him something important?"

"Yes; can we call him?"

Figuring that McKenzie wouldn't be able to sleep unless she was able to ask her question, Kate nodded and reached for her phone, dialing her father's number.

"Did you call for a bedtime story, Katie?" Jim asked as he picked up after the second ring.

"No; I just read three of them, thanks anyway."

"I know how that goes," her father said with a quiet chuckle. "Did you need something else?"

"Yeah; your granddaughter won't go to sleep until she speaks with you, she says it's important; if you're not busy."

"I'm never too busy for my girls," Jim remarked; "Put her on."

"I'll put you on speakerphone, she's cuddled up to me pretty well," Kate replied before switching the call to speaker. "Alright, Kenzie; Grandpa's on the phone."

"Grandpa," McKenzie said sleepily.

"Yeah; sweet pea; what do you need?" he inquired.

"Is Scarlett okay?" she asked.

He gave a soft laugh. "Yes, honey; Scarlett's fine. She's curled up on her bed watching TV."

"You'll keep her in your room tonight?" McKenzie questioned.

"Yes; we'll keep her in our room. We'll make sure she's safe, I promise."

"Okay."

"Do you think you'll be able to sleep now?" Jim asked.

"Yes; where's Grandma?"

"Grandma's right here with me on the couch," he told her; "I'm keeping her safe too. How about I tell you goodnight and then I'll give the phone to Grandma and you can tell her goodnight too; do you want to do that?"

"Yes."

"Okay; Goodnight, McKenzie; I love you," Jim said.

"Night-night, Grandpa; love you."

"Okay, I'm going to give the phone to Grandma now."

Kate watched her daughter's face as they listened to the sound of the phone changing hands and then her mother's voice floated across the line. "Hi, sweetheart," Johanna said softly.

"Hi, Grandma."

"Are you ready for bed, you sound sleepy."

"Uh huh; Mommy's staying with me; her scaring the monsters away."

"Well don't worry, she'll do a good job and they bother you anymore. You just think happy thoughts as you close your eyes, okay?"

"Kay," she mumbled.

Kate could detect the smile in her mother's voice as she spoke once more. "I love you, McKenzie."

"I love you, Grandma."

"Goodnight, sweet dreams, sweetheart," she told her. "Give the phone to Mommy."

"Night."

"I've got the phone, Mom," Kate said softly as she took it off speaker and put it to her ear once more.

"Everything alright?" Johanna asked.

"Yeah; she wanted to make sure everyone is safe. I'm staying with her tonight and Grammy is across the hall in her room; Daddy is downstairs…we needed to know that all was well at your house and that the cat is protected," she said with a soft, short laugh.

"I'll be sure to snap a few pictures of Scarlett in the morning that I can show her when we go costume shopping; that way she'll know she made it," Johanna said lightly.

"I'd appreciate that. She's about ready to go out so I'm going to go so I can kiss her goodnight and I'll talk to you in the morning."

"Alright, honey; I love you, goodnight."

"Love you too; goodnight," Kate said before ending the call and laying her phone aside. "You ready to sleep now?" she asked her daughter.

"Yes."

Kate gave her a goodnight kiss. "I love you, my Kenzie girl."

"I love you, Mommy."

"I'm going to turn the light out now but your nightlight is on okay?"

McKenzie nodded, more asleep than awake and Kate figured that was a good sign as she clicked off the lamp. She kept her cuddled close, listening to the sound of her breathing as it evened out and sleep claimed her. Hopefully tonight her daughter's dreams would be full of happy thoughts like her grandmother had reminded her of her; but just in case they weren't, Kate mused as her own eyes closed, she better seize the opportunity for some sleep for herself.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note: Thanks for your reviews!_

Chapter 5

Late the next morning when Johanna's knock was answered, she found herself looking into the forlorn faces of her daughter and granddaughter; both of whom were dressed to go out as planned. "What's wrong, Katie?" she asked as she stepped inside.

Kate sighed, glancing at the phone in her hand and then back to her mother. "I just got a call," she said, guilt and regret on her face. "I have to go to the precinct."

"Don't go, Mommy," McKenzie pleaded; her lower lip poking out in a pout.

Kate carefully knelt down in front of her daughter, taking her small hands in hers. "Baby; you know I don't want to go. It always makes Mommy sad when I have to go to work instead of doing what I said we'd do. We've talked about it before though, remember? That sometimes when I get called away, it's because someone needs help; that me and Uncle Kevin and Uncle Javi have to go put a bad person in jail so they can't hurt anyone anymore. Do you remember when we talked about it?"

"Yes; but I want you to go with me," her daughter pleaded.

"I know," Kate murmured, emotions pushing to the surface.

"Why are they calling you on a Sunday, Katie?" Johanna asked. "I thought Sunday was your guaranteed day off?"

"It is…but this call was classified as a high priority; they're calling in a lot of people so I'm assuming it's something big or it has a big name attached. I told Gates I had to wait for you to get here because Alexis spent the weekend in the Hamptons working on a project and Castle drove out there to get her to take her back to her dorm. He should be on his way back but I can't chance that he stopped off somewhere figuring we'd all be out for the day."

Johanna's gaze dropped to her daughter's stomach. "They're not going to put you in the field, are they? You've been on desk duty for awhile now…I don't like the thought of them shoving you out there."

Kate shook her head. "No, Mom; don't worry, they're not sending me out in the field. Gates wants me to help run command operations from the precinct, do some of the desk work that this job requires while others do the heavy lifting so to speak. Mystery Baby and I are going to be perfectly safe, I promise."

Her mother nodded. "Good, I feel better knowing that."

"Mommy, what about my costume?" McKenzie asked mournfully. "You said we'd get my Cindaella dress and then we could have Happy Meals with Grandma."

Tears pricked at Kate's eyes, seeing the disappointment on her daughter's face. "Honey, I can't go like we wanted. I'm really sorry but Captain Gates said I have to come to work for awhile. I'm so sorry; I promise I'll make it up to you."

Tears began to fill McKenzie's eyes and Johanna couldn't help but feel horrible for both of them as she stooped down to her granddaughter's level as well. "Mommy has to go help someone," she told her; "You know that it's really important what she does; she helps keep little girls like you safe and their mommies and daddies and sisters and everyone else. She's really sad that she has to go to work today; it's not what she wanted. You know Mommy only leaves when she has to, right?"

McKenzie pouted but nodded as she met her mother's eye and Kate nearly crumbled as she pulled her into her arms. "You know I love you more than anything, don't you?"

"Uh huh. I love you, Mommy."

Kate squeezed her tighter. "I promised you that you'd get your Cinderella dress today…so how about if Grandma takes you to get your costume?"

McKenzie looked to Johanna, hopefulness in her eyes. "Will you take me, Grandma?"

She smiled softly as she rose from the floor. "Sure I will, sweetheart; or we can wait awhile for Mommy."

Kate held her hand out to her mother, silently requesting her assistance to get back up on her feet. Johanna helped her up, giving her hand a comforting squeeze before releasing it. "I don't know how long I'm going to be and I don't want her to be upset all day. Go ahead and take her; get her costume and the accessories for it. She needs a bag or a bucket for her treats too; let her pick out whatever she wants. I'll get my stuff and give you some money; I'll have to get going."

"Alright, Katie," Johanna said as McKenzie moved toward her, her arms raised in silent askance to be cuddled and she complied by picking up her granddaughter and holding her close. "I'll take care of everything until you get back."

She nodded and then hurried through the loft, getting what she needed for work before digging into her purse and extracting some money that she pressed into her mother's palm. "If that's not enough to cover it, I'll pay you back the difference," she told her.

"I'm sure it'll be plenty," Johanna replied as she sat McKenzie on the counter so she could tuck the money safely inside her purse.

Kate moved to her daughter, grateful that her mother had sat her on the counter so that she could spare her back from stooping down again; she was sure she was going to get stuck one of these days…which made her grateful that McKenzie knew how to call for help. She hugged her daughter tightly and kissed her. "I love you; I'll be home as soon as possible, okay?"

"Okay," McKenzie murmured.

"Be good for Grandma and I'll still get you a Happy Meal when I get to leave work, okay?"

"I'll be good, Mommy. Love you."

Emotion made Kate's chin quiver and quickly sank into the embrace of her own mother. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too," Johanna murmured. "Everything will be fine."

"Thank you," she whispered, squeezing her tightly.

"That's what I'm here for," her mother told her. "Go on now before you get angry phone calls. I'll get her jacket on her and we'll head out too in a couple minutes."

Kate smiled and gave a nod, saying her goodbyes before hurrying to the door, escaping before her hormones could send her into a crying jag.

As the door closed, Johanna turned to her granddaughter. "Well, sweetheart; it's just you and me for costume shopping today. Are you ready to go?"

"I'm ready."

She lifted her down from the counter. "Go pee before we leave."

"I already did that when Mommy helped me get dressed," McKenzie stated.

"Go anyway."

"Why?" she asked.

Johanna smiled at her. "Because I know you, kitten; you'll wait until I hook you in the carseat and get in the car and then you'll say "Grandma, I have to pee" and then I'll have to get out, get you back out of the car and bring you back in; so you go pee now."

McKenzie giggled. "I don't have to pee."

"Go try anyway, okay? It'll only take a minute; you can use Mommy's bathroom since it's closer."

"Okay," McKenzie said, running off toward her parents bedroom.

"Yell if you need help," she told her, moving to the sofa so she'd be closer if she was needed.

A few minutes later, McKenzie's voice called out to her and Johanna headed toward the bathroom. "What do you need, sweetie?"

"Guess what, Grandma?!" McKenzie said as Johanna arrived in the doorway.

"What?"

"I peed!"

Johanna laughed. "I had a feeling you would."

"How did you know?"

"Grandma magic," she replied. "What do you need help with?"

"My hands," McKenzie said. "I can't reach."

Johanna lifted her up to the sink so that she could wash her hands and then she sat her back on her feet. "I can't get my button, Grandma."

"I see," she said, stooping down so she could button McKenzie's jeans. "Are these new?"

"Uh huh, Mommy buy'd them."

"They're cute," Johanna said; smiling at the little pair of black jeans that had little pink butterflies embroidered down the side of the leg. "You look very pretty today."

"You look pretty too, Grandma."

She smiled and kissed her cheek. "Thank you."

"Mommy buy'd me this shirt too," McKenzie said, pointing to her long sleeved purple shirt, the words on it written in hot pink. "You know what it says?"

"It says "Mommy's BFF," Johanna read.

"That means I'm Mommy's best friend forever."

"That's right, you are," she told her as she nudged her back through the loft. "Let's get your jacket on."

McKenzie ran to the kitchen table where Kate had hung her jacket on the chair and grabbed it. "Do you like my new jacket?"

"I love it; it matches your pants," her grandmother said; "And I like your little boots too. You and Mommy must've went shopping."

"Yeah, but it was a long time ago."

"I don't think it was all that long," Johanna said with a laugh as she hooked her purse over her shoulder and then took her granddaughter's hand and led her out the door.

Her granddaughter chatted merrily on the elevator trip down to the garage, her small hand clutching hers tightly. Johanna took it as a good sign that McKenzie wouldn't be upset the whole day that Kate had to go to work instead of going with them as planned.

"Where's Grandpa at?" McKenzie asked as they stepped off the elevator and into the garage.

"He's out playing golf with Uncle Jeff; it's probably the last time they'll get to play before it gets too cold out."

"What will they play then?"

Johanna smiled. "Well then they'll probably play pool in Uncle Jeff's basement."

"Uncle Jeff's got a pool!"

"No, sweetie; not a swimming pool. There's a game called pool; there's a big table and they use sticks to hit balls into the pockets."

"I wanna play that game."

She laughed. "Well maybe we'll go with Grandpa one day so you can see what it is but you wouldn't be able to play it."

"Why?"

"Because the pool stick is bigger than you," she laughed; "And we'll have to hold you up so you can see the table."

"I still wanna see it."

"We'll let you see it."

Johanna had just hit the button on the remote to unlock the car doors when her son-in-law's voice sounded behind them. "Where are you two going?"

"To get my Cindaella costume, Daddy," McKenzie answered; climbing into the car as Johanna opened the back door.

Castle glanced to Johanna as she leaned into the car to hook McKenzie into her carseat. "Where's Kate? I thought you were all going together?"

"She got called to the precinct," she answered.

"On a Sunday?"

"High priority case; the captain wants her to help run command operations from the precinct. She and McKenzie were both upset so she told me to take her and get her costume."

"Bye, Daddy," McKenzie said with a smile and a wave as Johanna finished double checking that the belts were secure.

With Kate not along, Castle saw an opportunity to perhaps sway his daughter into a different direction costume wise…not to mention that it was somewhat bothersome to know that she had been upset by her mother's departure but never seemed too upset about saying goodbye to him. "I think I'll go along," he stated.

"You're going with us?" Johanna asked, an odd look on her face as she regarded him. "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do," he said with a smile. "But I'd like to go anyway."

Her brow rose. "You really want to go on a shopping trip?"

"I've been on many shopping trips in my life, Johanna. Is there a problem? Do you not want me to go along with my daughter for some reason?"

"No; there's no problem," she answered; thinking to herself that she wasn't sure it was such a good idea. He had that look on his face that suggested he was up to something…and Katie had mentioned in a few texts the night before that he still wasn't accepting of McKenzie's reluctance about certain aspects of Halloween. "If you want to go, get in."

"Do you want me to drive?" he asked.

"No; I'll drive, it's my car," Johanna remarked.

He smirked in amusement. "I just wanted to see if Kate had inherited that 'no, I'm driving' thing…she must have."

"You know Jim drives when we're together," she said as she rounded the car to the driver's side. "But you really don't have to go with us if you don't want to; I'll bring her back when we're done."

"I'm all for Halloween shopping, I'm coming," he stated as he got into the car.

Johanna opened her door and got in the car, wondering why she had a feeling that this wasn't going to be the quick, easy shopping trip she had envisioned just minutes before.

"Do you miss your Mustang?" Castle asked as she started up the car; thinking about how she had retired her red Mustang to the garage in a spot next to Jim's restored Camaro in favor of the shiny red, four door Dodge Charger that she was currently driving. She had made the switch shortly after McKenzie had been born so that she could get her granddaughter in out of the car more easily when she needed to take her somewhere with her.

"No, I still drive my Mustang to work when the weather is nice or to run a few errands at times. Jim does ask that I leave it in the garage in the winter so I do that since he considers this the better car for winter driving," she answered.

"Grandma," McKenzie said before Castle could comment further.

"Don't tell me you have to pee," Johanna said lightly as she drove toward the exit of the garage.

Her granddaughter giggled. "No, silly!"

Johanna laughed. "Alright then, what is it, kitten?"

"Did you keep Scarlett in your room last night?"

"Yes; Scarlett slept on her blanket in the chair. I took some pictures of her this morning to show you that she's fine."

"Can I see them?"

Johanna stopped at the exit and fished her phone out of her purse, quickly finding the last picture she had taken and then handed the phone back to her granddaughter. "There you go; you know how to swipe to the next picture. Don't delete anything."

"I won't," McKenzie said as she took the phone.

Castle glanced at his mother-in-law. "I know an app that retrieves deleted photos if you ever need it."

"Good to know," she replied. "I try to keep everything backed up but you never know when I might miss something."

"Been there, done that," he answered.

"Scarlett's soo cute," McKenzie cooed from her carseat.

Johanna smiled as the light turned. "She is, isn't she?"

"Yep; Scarlett loves me, don't she?"

"She does love you; she knows you love her too and like playing with her."

"I know a great costume store," Castle remarked.

"We already picked a store," Johanna answered.

"What are we doing after the shopping; lunch?" he asked.

"Mommy's bringing me a Happy Meal when she comes home," McKenzie stated.

"We could go ahead and get one after we find your costume," he told her.

"No; Mommy's getting me one."

"But you could have it sooner from me," he stated.

"I want Mommy to bring it."

"Katie promised her that she'd bring her a Happy Meal, Rick," Johanna remarked. "It was part of their original plan for today and I believe Katie is trying to hang on to a corner of it so that neither one of them feels disappointed."

Castle gave a nod. "Understood…so no lunch?"

"I think your daughter is going to hold out for her mother."

"Not if she gets hungry enough."

"We're going to hope Katie is home before that happens…I'm surprised you didn't go join her at the precinct. I figured the words 'high priority' would have sent you running."

"But then I would've missed costume shopping."

Johanna flicked a quick glance toward him. "You don't have something up your sleeve, do you?"

"Just my arm," he quipped. "Why?"

"Just curious," she replied. "You've never tagged along on one of our shopping trips before."

"First time for everything."

"Is that the story you're sticking to?"

Castle glanced at her. "Are you suspicious of me?"

"Not of you; just your motive for suddenly expressing a desire to shop with the girls."

"I've shopped with girls before…I even went to the market with you once."

"That was different," Johanna replied; "I was wary of being alone in public and you were available."

"You're like Kate; always suspicious."

"Occupational hazard."

"You're not a lawyer anymore."

"The state of New York says I am," she remarked. "My registration is current and I can show you my card issued by the New York State Bar Association."

Castle glanced at her. "What, you carry it with you?"

"The registration papers, no; my card, yes."

"But you don't practice anymore."

"No; but I teach law, you never know when some smartass might want you to prove that you're a member of the bar…and you never know when a relative might suddenly need a lawyer and dials your number. It's best to be prepared in all cases."

Her phone rang in the backseat before he could say more. "Grandma, it's ringing," McKenzie declared. "Aunt Maggie is on the screen."

"Hand it to Daddy," Johanna told her. "Rick, put it on speaker for me."

Castle took the phone and answered the call, putting on speaker. "It's on," he told her.

"Hello, Maggie," Johanna answered.

"Jo, are you in the car?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah; but it's alright, I have you on speaker phone."

"I didn't mean it that way," she laughed.

Johanna's brow furrowed. "I'm not sure I'm following."

"Was McKenzie playing with your phone?" her friend asked.

"She had my phone until it rang, why?"

"Because she's just posted three selfies on your Facebook page," Maggie laughed.

"Again!" Johanna exclaimed.

"Yes, but I have to give her credit; they're all in focus."

"I don't know how she manages to post them," Johanna muttered.

"I don't either but they're there…oh wait, I was wrong, there's four."

"Wonderful; what do they look like?"

"Oh the first one is adorable; she has a cute smile on her face. The second one, she's sticking her tongue out; the third…well that expression you have to see for yourself because I can't describe it, but it's silly and laugh inducing. The fourth one, is a close up; you can't deny that she's got your eyes."

"Wouldn't dream of denying it; but she gets them from her mother as well," Johanna stated.

"Of course; but you had them first," Maggie laughed.

Johanna chuckled. "Actually my grandmother did but at least that trait is carrying on through the generations. Thanks for letting me know that she's taken over my Facebook page again."

"No problem; I had a feeling you didn't know. I'll let you go since you're driving, call me later."

"I will," Johanna promised before saying goodbye and telling Castle to end the call.

"Well, Rick; while you have my phone, open up my Facebook app and see what Miss McKenzie has accomplished from her carseat."

"I was hoping you'd say that," he admitted as he found the icon on her screen and tapped it.

"McKenzie," Johanna said; "What were you doing?"

"Taking pictures like Lexis does," she answered.

"How did you put them on my Facebook?"

"Like Lexis does," McKenzie said once again. "You push the blue button that has a 'F' on it…"

"You know what an 'F' is?" Castle asked, looking back at his daughter.

"Yes, Daddy," she said; giving him a look that hinted at slight offense. "I knows letters; Grandma gots magnets, we spell words."

"Forgive me for doubting," he said; "What do you do after you push the blue button?"

"Then Lexis said you push the button that looks like a picture next to the box that don't have words in it."

"I'll be damned," Johanna said; "She does know how to do it."

"Then you pick the picture you want to use," McKenzie went on; "Don't you know how to do it, Daddy? You want me to show you like Lexis showed me?"

"No, jellybean; I think I remember how to do it now; but thank you. I might have a word with your sister later though."

"Her in trouble?"

"No; she's not in trouble…I'm just wondering why she taught you how to do that."

"Cause I asked her!" McKenzie exclaimed.

Castle glanced to Johanna. "Do you notice that she sometimes gets your tone? That 'what are you, an idiot', tone?"

"I thought she got that from Katie; but at least you know she's Facebook savvy if you need someone to run your page," Johanna laughed.

"Daddy, can we get letter magnets for our fridge?"

"Yes; we can some of those magnets," he told her as he finally came upon the pictures she had posted. "Maggie's right, she does take a good selfie."

"The ones she posted a few weeks ago were good too," Johanna remarked. "Have they garnered any comments yet?"

He nodded. "Jim's already seen them; he's left a comment that says "McKenzie, give Grandma her phone back before you get in trouble."

"Cute how he thinks she can read it."

"Well who the hell knows, maybe she can; she can identify the Facebook logo."

"True," Johanna replied; "And post the pictures."

Castle turned to face his daughter once more. "Who taught you how to take selfies?"

"Lexis," she answered. "We take selfies, it's fun."

"Quality sister bonding time," Johanna quipped.

"Yeah; might have to have a word with her about it. Can I post on your page?"

"What are you going to post?" she asked.

"Just that you didn't post those pictures; your ham of a granddaughter did."

"Don't call her that!"

"Fine, how about "That feeling when your granddaughter takes selfies and posts them from the carseat"? How's that?"

"You can post that," she told him as they neared there destination. "Do it quick while I find a parking spot.

"Consider it done," he remarked; tapping out the message and posting it before closing the app and sliding her phone into the pocket of her purse.

* * *

Castle waited quietly on the sidewalk as Johanna got McKenzie out of the car, frowning as he surveyed the store they would be heading toward.

"Before we go in," Johanna said to her granddaughter, "I want you to know that there might be some decorations in this store that look scary but it'll be okay, alright?"

"Okay," McKenzie said softly, her hand slipping into her grandmother's.

"I still think we should've gone to my usual Halloween store," Castle commented. "This place looks small; probably not much selection."

"Looks can be deceiving," Johanna replied. "Katie and I planned on coming here; one of my students works here and she offered her 'friends and family' discount."

"I'm not hurting for a discount, Johanna."

She paused on the sidewalk and turned to face him, her granddaughter's hand still tightly in hers. "Rick; please don't embarrass me in here."

"How would I embarrass you?" he exclaimed.

"By acting like this store isn't as good as the high priced ones you frequent. My student works here; she's a nice girl who made a kind offer of her personal discount when I asked if they have children's costumes for my granddaughter. If they don't have the one she wants, then we'll go elsewhere; but can you just give this place a chance?"

Castle nodded. "I'll be on my best behavior."

Johanna eyed him warily. "I wonder how many times Martha heard those words and was disappointed in the end."

"I can't say for certain but I'm sure if you call and ask her later, she'll have a tally somewhere."

"If you're not good, Daddy; you have to sit on time out at home," McKenzie declared.

"Says who?"

"That's what Mommy says," McKenzie answered. "It's a rule. If you're bad you gotta go on time out and think about it."

"At the rate Daddy's going this week, he'll be on time out before long," Johanna stated as they resumed their walk.

"I'm too old for time out," Castle remarked.

"Grandma; what happens when you're too old for time out?"

"Don't worry, sweetie; Mommy has grown up ways of punishing Daddy if he needs it."

"What if her not home?"

"Well then you call me and I'll come over and talk to him…and trust me, he'll feel punished."

"Most likely true," he quipped as he moved ahead of them to open the door of the store for them.

"That's what I thought," Johanna said; "But thank you for being a gentleman and holding the door."

"I live to please my wife and my mother-in-law."

"What about your mother?"

"Depends on what day it is."

"Hi, Mrs. Beckett," the young woman at the counter said with a bright smile.

"Hello, Chelsea," Johanna replied. "How are you?"

"I'm good; it's a little slow here today though. Is that your granddaughter?"

"Yes; this is my little princess," she answered with a smile. "McKenzie, can you say hi to Miss Chelsea?"

"Hi, Miss Chelsea," McKenzie said with a shy smile.

"Hi, McKenzie; it's nice to meet you," Chelsea told her. "Are you going to get your costume today?"

"Uh huh; my mommy was gonna come with us but her had to go to work."

Chelsea gave her a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry your mommy didn't get to come."

"But Daddy's here," Castle stated happily.

"My Daddy's here," McKenzie stated; "He told Grandma he'll be good; if he's not, he's gonna get talked to."

Chelsea laughed. "He won't like that."

"You can bet on that," Johanna said; "Rick; this is my student, Chelsea; Chelsea, this is my son-in-law, Rick."

"It's nice to meet you," he told the girl; finding it a little hard to believe that she was a law student with her hair dyed jet black; the thick layers of black mascara and eye shadow making her blue eyes vivid in her pale face; her lips painted a scarlet red; at least three earrings in each ear.

"You too," she replied before giving her attention back to Johanna. "I'm sorry I don't get to meet your daughter; you speak of her often."

"She had every intention of coming with us but was called away unexpectedly," Johanna replied.

Castle caught his mother-in-law's eye. "Don't you say loving things about me in your classes, Johanna?"

"Of course; I make it known that my son-in-law is the father of my granddaughter."

"That's all?"

"That's pretty much your biggest point scorer with me, Rick."

"We all know you write the Nikki Heat novels," Chelsea stated; "She recommends them once in awhile."

"Only Nikki?" Castle asked; his gaze sliding toward Johanna. "Not Erica?"

"We don't discuss Erica," his mother-in-law stated, her foot tapping against the floor.

He smiled at her sudden nervousness. "You mean you don't tell your class that Erica Bradley is based on you?"

"So you are Erica Bradley!" Chelsea exclaimed excitedly. "I knew it!"

Johanna closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "No, I don't confirm it, Rick."

"Why? I thought you liked the books so far."

"I do…it's just…well…it's a little…awkward?"

"It's not awkward; you just own it."

"I'm there to teach law, not promote your books," Johanna declared, tugging McKenzie along with her as she began to move away from the area near the counter. "Come on, sweetheart; there's the treat buckets; Mommy said you need one."

"I'm sensing some avoidance, Johanna," Castle remarked.

"I'm sensing a change of subject, Rick; like the topic of making sure your daughter has what she wants and needs for Halloween."

"Definitely avoiding the subject."

A sharp intake of breath from her granddaughter, brought her gaze to McKenzie. "Grandma!" she said excitedly; "Look; a Cindaella bucket!"

"Oh, you're a lucky girl," Johanna told her, allowing herself to be pulled closer to the shelf where the sky blue bucket made to look like a carriage and bearing the photo of Cinderella awaited. "That's right up your alley."

"Can I have that one, Grandma?"

"Of course you can; Mommy said to get what you wanted."

McKenzie reached for the bucket, grasping its blue handle with a bright smile on her lips.

"Let's not be so hasty," Castle stated, picking up the traditional pumpkin treat bucket. "Why don't you get a pumpkin bucket? They have them in pink."

"No, Daddy; I want the Cindaella one."

"But the pumpkin is more Halloween like," he stated. "Or you could get a treat bag that's a pumpkin or a ghost. Look, they have some with witches. Don't you want to get a pumpkin or a ghost?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I like this one."

"I think a pumpkin would be better."

"Rick," Johanna said, warning in her tone. "It's for her, not you."

"I'm aware of that…but I like the traditional pumpkin buckets for trick or treat."

His mother-in-law smiled. "Then by all means, buy yourself one; but McKenzie is getting the Cinderella one that she picked out. It'll match her costume."

"Unless she decides not to be Cinderella," he stated; "She might change her mind, right, jellybean?"

"No," his daughter replied. "I want my Cindaella dress and this bucket."

"Cinderella likes pumpkins," Castle declared. "She'd like this bucket."

His daughter eyed him. "Cindaella like this bucket; it's a carriage…her pumpkin turned into a carriage, Daddy," she said matter-of-factly.

Johanna laughed softly as she smoothed a loving hand over her granddaughter's head. "That's true, Rick; so technically, she's carrying a pumpkin because that's what the fairy godmother turned into the carriage."

"Teaching her to be a lawyer?" he asked; "With this talk of technicalities?"

"No; but I'm sure she would be a good lawyer one day if she wants to be one…but it's not something I'm encouraging."

He wasn't so sure he believed that; after all, the only career she mentioned that she hoped her granddaughter would never aspire to was being a cop. "Look, McKenzie; they have glow in the dark treat buckets; you could get one with a cat on it," he said, excitement in his tone as he hoped to sway her away from princesses and into something more traditional.

"No!" McKenzie stated; holding her chosen treat bucket tightly against her chest. "This one! Grandma said I could have it."

"Grandma's not the boss."

"Yes, she is," McKenzie stated, giving him the annoyed look Kate always gave him.

"I am," Johanna said; "Katie put me in charge of this endeavor; you're still supposed to be on the road somewhere between here and the Hamptons."

"But still; I'm the father," he stated.

"Big deal; I'm the grandmother of your daughter and the mother of your wife, if it wasn't for me, neither one of them would be here…that's two contributions to your one; I win. McKenzie gets the bucket she chose even if I have to buy it myself; and then when I tell Katie that it was the only way her daughter was able to get the treat bucket of her choice…well; I wouldn't want to be you."

"I'm not afraid of her."

Johanna smiled. "I'll be sure to tell her and her pregnancy hormones that you said that; she'll get a real kick out of it."

"That's cold, Johanna."

"If you don't want to feel a chill from your wife; I suggest you back off and allow your daughter to pick what she wants…because she's getting that bucket one way or another. After Halloween, she can play with it with her dolls; I'm sure she can tote her baby doll things in it or use it to put her Barbie accessories in."

"Fine," he said; "McKenzie; if that's the bucket you want, then that's the one you can have….but the glow in the dark one is a lot cooler."

"You can get a glow in the dark one, Daddy; I'll get my Cindaella one."

"Maybe we should get a couple of these Cinderella treat bags too," Johanna said, pulling two of the plastic bags off the shelf. "Just in case you run out of room in your bucket."

"Okay, Grandma."

"You're always so agreeable for your grandmother," Castle remarked.

His mother-in-law met his eye. "That's because Grandma doesn't have an agenda…and she knows that this costume and treat bucket are for the child and not herself."

"But I have a feeling if she was choosing these items for herself, she'd probably go for Cinderella."

"I would," Johanna said; "And I did, when I was five. Katie was also Cinderella one year; I believe when she was four. Now let's move on."

"We should get some of those glow in the dark things for safety reasons," Castle remarked.

"I agree," she said as she nudged McKenzie further down the aisle where the selection of glow sticks were located.

"There's princess ones," McKenzie declared; pointing at the pink pack labeled Disney Princesses.

"Of course there is," Castle said; "Everything has gone cutesy."

"You should know from previous experience that they make cutesy things for girls," Johanna remarked as she pulled a pack off the rack and then grabbed a package of the more traditional bracelet sized glow sticks. "But if it would be less painful for you, you can wait in the car."

"No, no," he replied with a shake of his head. "The two of you might enjoy that too much."

"That could be true if you're going to nitpick the whole time," she replied as she put the packages of glow sticks in the bucket McKenzie was carrying.

"I'm just trying to make sure that Halloween is properly observed."

"I believe it's being properly observed, Rick."

"Not in my opinion," he muttered.

"Chelsea," Johanna said, calling out to her student who was putting some items on display at a rack near the counter. "Where are the costumes for little girls?"

"Go straight back and make a left," Chelsea replied. "The girls costumes are hanging against the wall. If you don't find what you're looking for, let me know, there's a chance I might have it in the back; we have a lot of stock."

"Thank you," Johanna told her.

"Do you want me to put her bucket behind the counter so she doesn't have to carry it?" the young woman asked.

"That's a good idea," she said; "McKenzie, let Miss Chelsea put your bucket behind the counter until we're ready to check out, okay?"

"Okay, Grandma," her granddaughter replied, walking toward Chelsea and handing her the bucket.

"I'll take good care of it for you," Chelsea told her. "It's the prettiest one we've got; I think you made a good choice."

"It's pretty," McKenzie agreed before hurrying back to her grandmother's side and taking her hand.

"Alright, let's go find that Cinderella dress," Johanna told her.

"I'm ready," McKenzie stated excitedly as they began to move through the store. Halfway toward the back, she froze, clutching Johanna's hand tightly. "Grandma," she murmured fearfully. "That's one of the monsters," she said, pointing a finger at a life-size werewolf decoration.

Johanna didn't blame her for fearing the object; it did look as real as possible, thick shaggy brown fur, a snarling expression on its face, revealing yellowish fangs. "It's just a decoration, sweetheart," she murmured. "It's not going to hurt you."

"I don't like it," she whimpered, turning toward her and pressing against her leg.

Johanna lifted her into her arms and held her tightly. "It's not real; it's just a big ugly decoration."

"It looks like one of the monsters on TV."

"It's not real, McKenzie," Castle said as he walked toward it. "Look, Daddy will touch it and show you that it won't do anything."

Castle patted the werewolf and it sprung to life with a menacing howl, it's eyes glowing red and its hands moving in a rigid way. He jumped away from it and McKenzie screamed, wrapping herself more tightly around her grandmother who clutched her tightly as she too flinched from the sudden noise and movement.

"It got real," McKenzie cried. "Just like Toy Story."

"No, no, it's not real," Johanna told her; "Its just a decoration that's made to make noise and move. It didn't hurt Daddy, see, he's fine; right, Rick?"

"That was so cool," he said with a grin; "I need one of these for my Halloween party."

Johanna glared at him. "Rick; if you buy that, I know two people who are going to beat you senseless…that is after you carry it home, because you're not putting that damn thing in my car. In fact, I'm not even allowing you to buy it. Don't even think about it!"

"I wouldn't use it as an every day decoration; just for my party."

"No!" she exclaimed. "Do you see your child wrapped around my neck, terrified?"

He nodded solemnly. "Yes, you're right, no werewolves. McKenzie; Daddy's fine, see that werewolf didn't hurt me and it won't hurt you because he's not real. He's just a really cool decoration…a fun decoration that I would love to own."

"Rick; I will call Katie."

"A decoration we won't be buying anytime soon…if ever," he proclaimed.

"He's not real?" McKenzie sniffled.

"No; he's not real…you can touch him; if Grandma ever unglues her feet from that spot; I don't know which of you is paler," Castle remarked.

Johanna shot him another glare and moved closer as McKenzie clung to her for dear life. "Go ahead, honey; touch it…it might move or make noise but it's not coming to life. It's made to do that to scare people."

"I wish Mommy was here to punch his nose," the little girl stated, eyeing the object warily.

Johanna smiled. "You can give him a punch on the nose; he won't hurt you; go ahead, give him a little punch for scaring you."

McKenzie punched the werewolf on the nose and it howled once more, making her press herself against her grandmother more firmly. "I still don't like it."

"I don't blame you, kitten," she murmured. "Only someone with no taste would want that in their house."

"I just wanted it for the party," Castle said; "That doesn't mean I lack taste."

"Fine; we'll say the owner would have questionable taste."

"That's slightly better," he quipped as they continued their journey toward the back, running across a life-size figure of Dracula as well.

"Oh no," McKenzie said; "There's another one, Grandma. That's the one that sucks your blood."

"No one is going to suck your blood," Johanna soothed. "Dracula isn't real either; I promise."

"I wonder if it has sound effects," Castle murmured, giving into the urge to touch it to see if it would spring to life. Sure enough it did; the vampire moving his arms, swinging his arm, pulling his cape in the fashion that vampires always did in old horror movies, his head swiveling and the words "I'm going to suck your blood" filling the air in a cheesy Transylvanian accent.

"I told you," McKenzie said with a shiver.

"He's not going to hurt you," her grandmother consoled. "He's just like the other decoration; he's fake, he just has sound effects and they make him move. He can't come after you and he's not sucking your blood."

Castle admired the figure with awe. "I need this one for my party too; I'm going to be Dracula anyway, how cool would it be to have this there too?"

"No," Johanna stated.

"You don't get to tell me no; you don't live with us."

"You came in my car; you're not buying something that will scare my granddaughter. She asked you to put away the little Dracula that was on the stand and you think a life-size one would be better?"

"Just for the party."

"The party that you will decorate for before she even goes trick or treating…that she'll still see the next day after getting home from spending the night with Jim and I while you have your party. You really don't think she'd be affected?"

"They would be brief encounters; they could beneficial to helping her overcome her fears."

"You're not buying that thing while you're with me," Johanna said. "It's not going in my car with my granddaughter. I will call Katie at work if I have to."

Castle sighed. "Perhaps I'll sleep on the idea."

"And discuss it with your wife," she stated.

"She'll say no."

"Another good reason to discuss it with your wife," Johanna remarked as she carried McKenzie past Dracula.

"You're a Halloween mood killer, Johanna."

"You didn't have to come," she replied.

"But then it wouldn't be as much fun."

Johanna decided to let that comment go without remark as she spied the sign for little girls costumes. "Here we go, sweetheart; here's the costumes," she said as she sat McKenzie on her feet.

"No more monsters?" McKenzie asked.

"No more monster decorations back here," she replied. "Let's look for your Cinderella dress."

Castle smiled as he spotted a Bride of Frankenstein costume. "McKenzie, how being the bride of Frankenstein?" he asked.

She wrinkled her nose. "No; I don't like that."

"But you could wear a wig and makeup; wouldn't that be fun?" he asked.

"No; I want to be a princess."

"How about Princess Leia?" he asked as he pulled another costume from the rack. "Alexis was Princess Leia when she was a little girl. She's a very cool princess, you should be her."

"Maybe next time," McKenzie stated. "I want Cindaella."

"Leia's a better princess."

"No," she said, her small hands searching the costumes on the lower rack with her grandmother.

"Here's a ghost costume," he declared; "Would you like to be a ghost?"

"Rick," Johanna said sharply. "She's told you a hundred times that she wants to be Cinderella; let her be."

"I'm giving her options."

"No, you're pushing your agenda."

"Grandma, here is the Cindaella dress!" McKenzie exclaimed, finally coming upon a stash of blue satin dresses on the rack.

"There they are," Johanna said. "Let's find your size."

"This one will fit," McKenzie said; clutching the hanger of the one she had pulled from the rack.

"No, sweetie; that's a five; you need a smaller size," she told her as she continued searching. "But I'm not seeing any in a size 3T."

"Oh no," her granddaughter cried. "I don't get to be Cindaella?"

"Don't panic," Johanna told her. "I'll take this one and go ask Miss Chelsea if they have your size in the back. If they don't, we'll go to every store until we find one who does, okay?"

"Okay," she answered; a look of trust on her face that her grandmother would make it right.

"Stay here with Daddy and keep looking in case we missed one in your size," Johanna said as she took the dress McKenzie had. "I'll be right back."

Castle saw a golden opportunity as his mother-in-law made her way back toward the front of the store in search of her student.

"While Grandma is away; how about we look for a different costume for you," Castle said quietly as he knelt down in front of McKenzie.

She shook her head, her long dark curls swirling around her shoulders. "No; I wanna be Cindaella."

"But they might not have that dress in your size," he said hopefully. "How about you be a zombie girl? Zombies are cool."

"No; I don't like zombies."

"Here's a zombie costume for girls, don't you think this would be fun?"

"No," she stated; "It's scary, I don't like it."

"Then how about a witch?" Castle said, pulling another costume from the rack. "We can paint your face green and your hands and you can be like that witch we saw on the Wizard of Oz."

"No! She was a mean witch," McKenzie declared. "I don't like mean witchys. I like nice ones."

He sighed. "Listen, sweetie; Halloween is meant to be spooky; that's what makes it fun. You're not going to find a lot of nice things for Halloween."

"Princesses are nice," she replied. "I'm gonna be a princess."

"You were a princess last year."

"I be another one this year; Cindaella."

"How about instead of Cinderella, you be a mummy?" he said with a smile. "Alexis was a mummy when she was a little girl, she really liked it."

"I don't want to be a mummy."

"Okay, I know; how about a spooky, glow in the dark skeleton. Wouldn't that be cool?"

"No, Daddy; a princess!"

"You need to be something other than a princess, McKenzie. Pick something else for a change."

"No," she cried. "Mommy said I could be Cindaella."

"Mommy's not here."

"Grandma's here," McKenzie remarked. "Grandma will get me Cindaella!"

"Not if we think of a better costume. Do you want to be a cat? You can be a black cat; you'd like that. You love cats."

"No! Monsters eat kitties!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down a little in agitation.

"Monsters don't eat kitties; there are no monsters."

"That monster on TV tried to eat the kitty."

"Alf isn't a monster," he explained. "Alf is an alien and yes, he tried to eat the kitty but he didn't…ooh; how about you be an alien for Halloween; that would be fun!"

"No; a princess!"

"Fine," he relented; "You can be a princess…but how about you be a spooky princess?"

"No; a nice princess."

"Not everything has to be nice, McKenzie. A scary princess can be just as much fun as a regular ole princess. We could put fake blood on it and makeup on your face and you can be a zombie princess!"

"No, no, no!"

"Honey, Daddy just wants you to try to be a little different. I want you to have a good Halloween. Let's be a scary princess this year; you could be a vampire princess; you can wear a cape and we'll get you some fangs, wouldn't that be fun?"

"I want to be Cindaella!" she said, her voice growing louder.

"How about Batgirl?"

McKenzie stared at him with an annoyed look on her face that reminded him of his wife.

"Batgirl would be cool," he said.

"Mommy don't like bats."

"Mommy would love Batgirl."

"No!"

"Princess Batgirl?"

"No!"

"How about Supergirl or Wonder Woman? You can be a superhero; wouldn't that be better than a princess?"

"No, Daddy! I like princesses!"

"I know; believe me I know…but I think it's time you start liking other things too. You are not going to be a princess every year. I think you should be something a little scarier so you won't be afraid anymore. You don't want to be a scaredy cat like your grandma do you? Let's pick a scary costume or a superhero."

McKenzie stamped her feet and let out the loudest scream she could and kept screaming as he scrambled to his feet. This wasn't a part of his plan of persuasion…this wasn't good at all; his daughter didn't usually throw tantrums like this…and to make it worse, he was sure Johanna was probably hearing it and would kill him upon arrival. He sighed deeply; maybe they should've canceled Halloween.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: Thanks for your reviews!_

 _This chapter is dedicated to Princesses everywhere, regardless of age and those who classify them as "lame."_

Chapter 6

As his child continued to scream with all the stamina of a Broadway diva, Castle's jaw tightened, a flicker of embarrassment filling him as he heard other voices in the store asking each other what the commotion was. "Hey, hey, stop that," he told McKenzie as he reached for her.

McKenzie dodged him, throwing herself down in the middle of the floor as she continued to scream. "I wanna be a princess!"

"McKenzie," he said sternly; "You stop that right now or you won't be anything because we're going to leave and you won't get to go trick or treating."

"I don't care," she cried loudly, covering her eyes with her fists.

"Get up off that floor right now!"

"No! I want my Mommy!"

Johanna had heard the commotion from the front of the store and came hurrying toward them. "McKenzie Grace!" she said sharply; "You stop that this instant and get up off that floor. You know better than this!"

To Castle's chagrin, the sharp tone of her grandmother's voice sent McKenzie scrambling to her feet, her screams ceasing as she hurried toward Johanna and wrapped herself around her leg, tears still sliding down her cheeks.

"What's going on?" Johanna demanded to know.

"I was just trying to get her to consider other costumes," Castle replied; "And she suddenly had to throw a massive tantrum."

"I want my Mommy," McKenzie cried, pressing her face against her grandmother's denim clad leg.

Johanna picked up her sobbing granddaughter. "I know you want Mommy; she'd rather be here with us too, sweetheart. Tell me what happened."

"Daddy was being mean to me," she cried.

"I was not!" her father exclaimed.

"He was," McKenzie stated with a shuddering breath. "Daddy don't like princesses."

"That's not true; I like princesses just fine…I just don't think you should be one all the time."

Johanna sighed. "For God's sake, Rick; are you really so bent out of shape about a little girl not liking scary things that you harass her about her costume to the point that she has to throw a tantrum?"

"She throws tantrums because you and Kate give in to her all the time."

Johanna's gaze narrowed at him. "Let me tell you something; I have taken this child to numerous stores, restaurants, outlet malls. I've taken her inside law firms, libraries, museums, doctor offices. I've even taken her to work with me a few times; and she has never, ever thrown a fit when she's with me. She's always been well behaved and polite. Katie's never mentioned her having tantrums in public either and I'm sure she would if it had happened."

"Of course; she tells you everything."

"You know what, I'll deal with you in a minute," Johanna said as she carried her granddaughter back toward the counter and set her on the side that wasn't being used as Chelsea fished some tissues from a box under the counter and passed them to Johanna.

"Thank you," Johanna said as she accepted them and wiped her granddaughter's face. "Now, kitten; do you want to tell me what's going on? Why were you laying on the floor screaming your head off?"

"Cause Daddy made me mad," McKenzie sniffled.

She nodded. "Well, sometimes Daddies do that. My Daddy made me mad sometimes too."

"Where's your daddy at, Grandma?"

She smiled sadly. "My daddy is in heaven now."

"With your mommy?"

"Yes."

"That's sad," McKenzie said, leaning close in effort to hug her grandmother.

"It is sad," Johanna said as she accepted her hug. "But they watch over us from heaven and I carry them in my heart. I know all about how daddies can make us mad; and it's okay for you to get mad at Daddy; but you can't scream and you can't throw yourself on the floor. That's not nice, McKenzie; this isn't your home and there are other people in this store besides you. They don't want to hear a little girl having a tantrum and I don't think Mommy would be too happy that you did that; I know Grandma isn't very happy about it."

"I'm sorry, Grandma; I won't do it no more."

"Okay; I'm going to trust that you won't. Tell Daddy you're sorry for screaming."

McKenzie gave her a stubborn look, her small chin jutting upwards a notch. "Is Daddy sorry? If him not sorry, I'm not sorry."

Johanna did her best to smother a smile as she turned to look at her son-in-law. "Rick; are you sorry for upsetting your daughter?"

"She's just like you," he stated with a shake of his head. "Did you see that thing she did with her chin; that's you…she's just like you."

"We're not discussing her genetics, Rick; I'm asking if you're sorry. McKenzie feels you owe her an apology."

"I just thought if she was something a little scarier for Halloween that it would help her get over her fears."

"That wasn't the question," Johanna stated; "Please answer the question, Rick."

"Oh, we're going to play court again; that's always fun."

"I understand completely why McKenzie felt the need to scream her head off after five minutes alone with you today," his mother-in-law stated. "I imagine you'll want to scream later after your wife is informed of what you managed to accomplish. Now would you please tell your daughter that you're sorry for upsetting her?"

He sighed. "I'm sorry I upset you, McKenzie."

She turned back to her granddaughter. "Daddy's sorry…he'll be even sorrier later, trust me. Now; will you tell Daddy that you're sorry for screaming?"

McKenzie looked at her father. "I'm sorry for screaming, Daddy."

"It's alright, jellybean; just don't let it happen again."

"I'm still being a princess," she declared; her chin jutting upwards once more.

"Just like your grandmother," he muttered.

Johanna breathed deeply and wondered if Maggie would be home later; she might need a glass of wine after this excursion. "McKenzie; tell me what Daddy did that made you mad."

"He don't want me to be Cindaella; he wants me to be mean scary things and I don't like it. I want to be Cindaella."

"You're going to be Cinderella," Johanna told her. "Mommy said you could be Cinderella and Miss Chelsea found your size in the back."

Chelsea smiled at the little girl as she looked toward her. "I've got your costume right here," she told her, holding up the small blue Cinderella dress. I'm keeping it right here with me while you and your grandma shop so no one else can take it."

McKenzie smiled. "Thank you, Miss Chelsea."

"You're welcome."

"See," Johanna said; "You're a nice polite girl who doesn't need to throw tantrums. When Daddy makes you mad, you just look at him and tell him 'you're making me mad, Daddy' and hopefully Daddy will then stop and think about whatever is going on."

"Grandma?"

"What?"

"Daddy won't put fake blood on my Cindaella dress will he? Because he wants me to be a princess zombie and I don't like that."

Johanna shot Castle a disgusted look. "Seriously?"

"What?" he asked; "It would be cool."

"She's a baby!"

"Little kids dressed up as zombies are cute."

"Yes, if they're boys! She's not a boy and you're not putting fake blood on her dress. She's not into that stuff."

"She could be if she just tried it and didn't have her mother and grandmother giving in to her need to have her way all the time."

"Well her father seems to think he can have his way all the time so I wonder where that trait might come from."

"Ha ha," Castle stated.

"Daddy said me and you are just scaredy cats, Grandma" McKenzie stated.

"Well that wasn't nice of Daddy," Johanna replied; "It's not nice to call people names; it can hurt someone's feelings. He wouldn't like it if Grandma called him a big doofus, now would he?"

Castle smirked at her. "I think you just did."

"What's a doofus?" McKenzie asked.

"A man who makes little girls cry in the middle of a store over something utterly ridiculous," Johanna replied. "But we won't call Daddy a doofus; because it isn't nice. We keep mean words in our head so we won't hurt anyone's feelings."

"Daddy's thinking words in his head right now," Castle commented.

"So is Grandma," Johanna stated; "But listen, McKenzie; it's okay if you're scared sometimes. It's okay if you don't like certain things. You don't have to like everything that Daddy likes or everything that Mommy likes; you like the things that you like, okay? There's nothing wrong with liking princesses; you like them all you want."

"That's what Mommy said."

"Good; you listen to Mommy."

"Grandma; are we scaredy cats?"

Johanna smiled. "No, Baby; we're not scaredy cats; that would mean we're afraid of everything and we're not afraid of everything, are we?"

"No."

"It's okay that you don't like to be scared…Grandma doesn't like to be scared either."

"Did a monster ever scare you, Grandma?"

Johanna brushed a lock of McKenzie's hair back from her face, memories of the past swelling within her, reminding her of all that she had lost…and all she had reclaimed. "Yes; a very mean monster scared me once…and I was scared of him for a very long time. He scared Mommy too…but one day we were brave and we made him go away and we lived happily ever after."

"Like princesses do?"

"Yes; just like princesses do…Grandpa's my prince charming, you know."

McKenzie giggled. "How did you get brave, Grandma?"

That was more difficult to explain; her granddaughter's mind didn't need to be tainted with the darkness of those days before she was born. One day she would know the whole story but today wasn't the time. She'd stick with her original plan that had been forgotten in the wake of Kate's departure for work. She unzipped a pocket of her purse and pulled out a pink stone. "I was brave because of this," she said, putting the stone in McKenzie's hand. "When I was a little girl, my grandma gave me this; she told me it was a bravery stone and that it came from a far away land. She said that I should carry it in my pocket when I was scared, that way I could touch it and it would make me as brave as I could be."

"It worked?"

"It sure did…that's why I'm giving it to you," Johanna told her. "This is your bravery stone now; you carry it with you and when you get scared, you touch it and you'll be brave…when you're brave, it scares the monsters."

McKenzie smiled as she turned the stone over in her hand. "I can have it?"

"Yes; it's yours."

"But will you be scared now, Grandma?"

Johanna smiled. "No, sweetheart; I've got plenty of bravery stored up. Let's put that in your pocket so you don't lose it."

"Okay," her granddaughter said, allowing Johanna to help her slip the stone into the pocket of her jeans.

"Now you've got your bravery stone and we found your dress; what else do you need for your costume?"

"A princess crown," McKenzie replied. "I want a pretty one."

"No princess outfit wouldn't be complete without a tiara," Johanna replied; glancing around to see if she saw any in the store. She spotted some on a shelf not too far away. "I see the tiaras over there; how about if Miss Chelsea takes you over to look at them while I talk to Daddy."

McKenzie worried her bottom lip. "But I want you."

"I'll be right over as soon as Daddy and I are finished talking; I'll see you the whole time. It's okay for you to go with Miss Chelsea; I know her, she's not a stranger to me. She's one of my students; remember when you went to work with me and you saw all the people I teach at school?"

"Uh huh."

"Chelsea is one of the people I teach at school; she's a friend, it's safe for you to go over there with her, I'll watch you the whole time, okay?"

"Okay, Grandma," she said, her mind eased.

Johanna glanced at her student. "Can you take her to look at the tiaras, Chelsea? It won't get you in any trouble will it?"

"Oh no problem, Mrs. Beckett," Chelsea replied; "I'm supposed to help the customers; she's a customer."

"Okay then, you go look at the tiaras and see which one you like best," Johanna said as she moved to lift McKenzie down from the counter.

"Wait!" her granddaughter said.

"What?"

"Kiss," McKenzie said, puckering her lips.

Johanna laughed and gave her a quick kiss.

"All better?" McKenzie asked.

"All better; I forgive you for having a tantrum. Next time you tell Daddy he's making you mad and then you get Mommy or me or Grammy and we'll help you deal with him."

"Okay; I want my crown now."

"Don't you want a kiss from me?" Castle asked McKenzie.

She narrowed her eyes like Kate always did. "No; I'm still mad at you!

"Just like her mother too," he muttered. "Both Beckett women rolled into one little girl."

"She's allowed to get mad at you," Johanna stated. "Just because she's little doesn't mean she doesn't have feelings."

"I'm aware of that," he retorted.

"Look, Grandma; Miss Chelsea has witchys on her pants! They're nice witchys!"

"They are," Johanna agreed; "They're very cute. Where did you get those, do they have them in little girl sizes?"

"I got them here," her student replied; "We do have them in little girl sizes; we have lots of Halloween clothes for kids; even pajamas."

"Great," Johanna said; "McKenzie; after we get your costume stuff, I'll will get you some Halloween outfits that you can wear every day until Halloween comes."

"Yay!" she said as she took Chelsea's hand.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Beckett; I'll take good care of her while you deal with your son-in-law. I won't let her out of my sight."

"Thank you, Chelsea," she said; watching as they made their way to the shelf full of tiaras and crowns. She positioned herself so that she could see both her granddaughter and her son-in-law. "Alright, Rick; what the hell is your problem?"

Castle sighed. "I just want her to think beyond the sphere of princesses."

"She's three; what do you want her to think about? Quantum physics?"

"No," he said with a slight glare. "But I would like her to think of something beyond princesses."

"She does; she thinks about Barbies, kittens, baby dolls, play-doh; being a chef in her play kitchen, playing dress-up…those are just a few things off the top of my head, but what you need to accept is that little girls want to be princesses. Little girls like believing in fairy tales…women of all ages still like to believe in the magic of fairy tales."

"Yeah; I'm aware of what she plays with and that she likes fairy tales," he remarked; "I just don't understand this princess obsession and this thing about being so against anything remotely spooky about Halloween. Alexis liked princesses too but she didn't want to be one all the time; and she was never against Halloween. Alexis has always loved it as much as I do; the spookier the better. But McKenzie…she's against anything that isn't cute and fluffy and the only thing I can figure is that she's getting that way from the amount of time she spends with you."

Johanna's jaw tightened, temper flaring in her eyes. "Oh, we're resorting back to your favorite game; blame the mother-in-law."

"Well, she's not getting it from me and she's not getting it from Kate. I know she doesn't get it from Mother or Alexis. Jim doesn't seem bothered by anything…that only leaves you, Johanna…and we all know how much you love to say what's on your mind. I don't think there are many opinions you keep to yourself."

She smirked at him. "If that were true; I wouldn't have asked McKenzie to apologize to you for her tantrum; I would've told her that screaming is usually the appropriate thing to do when faced with a self-absorbed jackass who won't listen to what you're trying to tell him…now do we really want to go down this road, Rick?"

"I'm not seeing any other explanation for her behavior," he stated. "She spends a lot of time with you…she's picking up your…habits."

"So let me get this straight," she said tartly; "You think I'm sitting my granddaughter down and saying "McKenzie, I don't like horror movies and you shouldn't like them either. I don't like using skulls and big ugly black birds as decorations, so you shouldn't like them at home either. I don't like being scared for the sake of a holiday so you shouldn't enjoy it either. Do you really think I'm doing that!?"

"Not exactly in that way but you can't deny that you influence her."

"And just how to do I do that, Rick?"

"Because you make everything cutesy!" he exclaimed. "Your cutesy decorations and cutesy little holiday shows…funny faces on the pumpkin instead of the standard jack-o-lantern face. Instead of trying to help her face her fears, you tell her you'll fix it and bring her home, report to Kate and I have to put away things she doesn't like!"

"Your whole home is decorated," Johanna stated. "She asked you to remove four decorations that bothered her; is that really a crime? And just because I told Katie her issue doesn't mean it's my fault. I informed my daughter that her child had a rough night because she had nightmares and that in the course of discussion; she told me what scared her about the current season and why monsters were suddenly in her mind. It's my job as her grandmother, and as the babysitter, to tell her parents when something is wrong; just like my mother and mother-in-law didn't hesitate to tell me if something was wrong or off with my child. As for how I decorate my home; that's my business and the only man who gets to object to it is my husband; but I will say that I like cutesy things for the holidays; I've always used them, just like my mother always used cute things; and yes, I like that they're also age appropriate for my granddaughter. As for the Halloween shows she watches with me, they're age appropriate as well…and I've watched the Peanuts holiday specials every year since they began airing in the 60s! Katie grew up watching them as well; and if you think I believe for a moment that you and your perfect first child never watched them, you're sadly mistaken."

"We did watch them but…"

"I'm not done," Johanna said sharply. "As for the pumpkin carving; that was all Jim; he bought the pumpkin, he bought one of those kits that had carving tools and the book of ideas. He and McKenzie looked through the book together and he told her to pick the face she wanted to carve on the pumpkin; she chose the funny face. I had no input whatsoever, nor did I want any; that was her thing with her grandfather that they had been planning all week. All I did was take the pictures. So you better back your little wagon up and get some facts before you start accusing me of things!"

Castle breathed deeply. "Okay, before the hurricane revs up from a category one to a category three; all I was saying is that it's easy to see that she sometimes takes on your attitudes."

"Rick; I have never said anything bad about Halloween to her! I don't have an issue with the holiday; I never have. My God, I was a typical kid myself who put on a costume and went trick or treating. Did some things scare me about it when I was little, yes, they did. I've never said a word against it. I don't like some of the decorations it inspires; I'm not into skulls and bats and disgusting looking creatures. It's not for me so I don't use it nor did my mother. No, I don't like horror movies; I think they're thin on plot and big on stupid. But feeling that way doesn't mean I think no one else should enjoy them. Jim likes them, Katie does too and it was never an issue for me nor did I try to push my feelings on to them. The only thing I said to McKenzie is that I don't like to be scared either; because I don't. I love my brother but when he was a child, he was an ass. Tormenting me was his biggest form of entertainment; putting fake spiders in my bed, jumping out at me every chance he got; telling me gypsies were going to steal me if I played outside. It's part of why I don't like to be scared; because my brother wasn't made to stop scaring me until he jumped out on my mother thinking it was me coming out of the room. Then he got punished. The other reason I don't like being scared is because I had to live for over a decade in constant fear and I don't like that feeling. I've had enough fear from real life; I don't need it for Halloween. But I'd never tell McKenzie not to enjoy something. I don't have anything against the holiday; I like seeing the kids in their costumes; I've been to a haunted hotel; I believe in ghosts, hell I've even seen one…but I don't feel a need to go all out like you do. That doesn't mean I'm wrong; it doesn't mean you're wrong. It just means we're different."

"I understand that; I'd just like McKenzie to give my way a chance," he stated.

"Why don't you let her grow up a little and she'll be more receptive to it."

"It's more fun when they're young and just starting to experience the holiday," Castle said tartly; "But with her seeing you going for the 'no scare, no spooky' kind and me going for the better kind, she of course chooses your way."

Johanna eyed him. "I have this feeling that you're telling me that you don't want my granddaughter around me much anymore. Is that what you're trying to say? Because let me tell you something; I have been in that baby's life since she drew her first breath and there's no way in hell I'm being taken out of it now. I know we're supposedly a lot better than we used to be, but I know you still don't entirely like me and that's fine; but if you try to keep me from my granddaughter, you will have the biggest fight of your life on your hands because I won't go quietly. I will fight you…even if I have to do it in a courtroom because grandparents have the right to file for visitation in this state, so you just try me, Rick; because when you do; you're not getting just a hurricane; you're going to have all of hell raining down upon you and you won't need Halloween for your scare; you'll get it courtesy of me and I assure you, I can terrify you more than your stupid horror movies ever will."

Castle took a minute to choose his words carefully, watching the fire snap in her green eyes. "I promised you when Kate was pregnant that I would never keep you from your grandchild and that's a promise I intend to keep. I don't blame you for feeling that I was insinuating that idea; I understand why you'd think I was…but I'm not. I wouldn't dare take McKenzie from you; not only for your sake; but for hers as well."

She held his gaze. "I hope you mean that; because I don't ever want to have that fight with you, Rick. It would rip my family apart and I don't want that…but if I had to, I would fight to remain in her life."

"I know you would; not that Kate would ever allow the scenario to happen."

"Then why are you acting this way about a costume, some decorations and a normal childhood fear of monsters brought on by questionable viewing choices?" Johanna asked.

"It's just that it's not like it was with Alexis."

"I should hope not; you raised Alexis alone. You're raising McKenzie with her mother."

"Yeah; but that's not what I mean. I just had so much more in common with Alexis; she was always interested in what I liked."

"Not everything is about you, Rick."

"I know…but with Alexis, when she was McKenzie's age; we had so much fun. She loved everything the way I did; she was…different."

"That's because they're two different human beings," his mother-in-law stated.

"Yeah; but they're both my children. It's like McKenzie takes after your side of the family while Alexis takes after me."

"I'd appreciate it if you'd take the disdain out of your voice when you speak of McKenzie taking after her mother's side of the family."

"I meant no offense."

"I'm going to be honest, Rick; it felt a little offensive."

"It's just that Alexis was a child who was always open to new things and I don't really see that with McKenzie."

"McKenzie is still a baby for God's sake," she spat. "I know the official label is toddler but they're still babies. She's three and a half; and technically she's got a few weeks before she's fully the half; everything in life is a new experience for her; she hasn't been around long enough for it to be old news yet."

He sighed deeply. "Alexis was just…I don't know; she just took to things quickly and seemed to always be mature for her age."

"Well we know that's not a quality she got from her father," Johanna stated; "But I think you're being unfair to that little girl over there trying on tiaras. You expect something of her that she can't give; she's a child...she's supposed to be easily excited and easily distracted, fearful at times, clingy at times. She's not supposed to act like she's ten when she's only three. I don't care what Alexis was like at three…I care about the child in question; and that's McKenzie; who deserves to have her feelings respected just like everyone else."

"So we should just let her turn into a fearful little mouse?" he asked. "Encourage her not to face fears and take on the brave qualities of her mother."

"Rick; Katie wasn't born a cop. She was born as a baby girl…and that little girl had her own fears and bad dreams and mistakes just like every child in the world. Are you seriously telling me that Alexis never feared a monster in the closet?"

"She did for a brief period of time; but I'd check under the bed and in the closet and she'd be fine; she moved on from it. Alexis was just different; she took after me, she liked my way of doing things. When I told her that something was fake and wouldn't hurt her, she took my word for it and believed it. McKenzie doesn't seem to do that…unless it comes from Kate. It's just hard not to think about how different she is from Alexis."

"Do you hear yourself?" Johanna asked. "You're always comparing her to Alexis and you need to stop."

"I don't compare them, I just…"

"Compare them," Johanna stated; "You do…and it's always in a way that implies that Alexis is better; and McKenzie is going to pick up on that sooner or later, Rick; and she's going to think that you don't love her as much as you love her sister. She'll feel like she's not good enough; that she'll never be good enough."

He shook his head. "That won't happen."

"Yes, it will," she stated; "Trust me, I know…I knew at six years old where I stood with my father, Rick. I knew all of my life that there was something about me that he didn't like; that I was the one he had an issue with. We didn't have a good relationship, as you know…because those feelings never went away. Do you want McKenzie to be like me? To one day be a woman in her sixties who still feels that hurt of not being what her father wanted? Do you want her to carry that feeling all of her life? I can tell you that they're footsteps of mine that I don't want my granddaughter to walk in. Do you?"

"No; I don't want that for her," he murmured.

"Then you need to stop with the comparisons. You need to stop pushing her to be things she doesn't want to be right now. She's a little girl; things she likes right now she might not like in six months. Things that scare her now might be things she laughs at next year or a few years down the road. Right now her world is princesses and kittens and things that make her feel warm and safe. She likes 'nice' faces and things that seem kind. Before long she'll have to accept that she can't avoid meanness…and real life monsters that have two faces…but she doesn't have to do it today. Let her keep that innocence as long as possible, Rick; she'll be disabused of it soon enough. Just let her be a little girl; it shouldn't be so hard for you…you've had one before; even if she was perfect by your definition."

"It's just harder with McKenzie," he replied.

"Why?"

He shrugged. "Because…"

His mother-in-law held his gaze. "What's it really about, Rick? Come on, out with it…maybe you'll feel better."

"It's just…I don't feel like I have anything with her."

"Meaning what exactly?"

"She always wants Kate," he answered. "She's all about Mommy and Grandma and Grammy. When Kate's home, she sticks to her like a shadow. When she's with me on Tuesdays and Thursdays, half the day all I hear is all the things she does at Grandma's. When Mother is home; she's on her, wanting to know when their next ice cream date is and if they can watch a movie together. When Alexis is there, she wants to play Barbies with her. I just don't know where I fit in when she has everything with everyone else."

"Rick; she adores you," Johanna said sincerely. "She talks about you all the time when she's with me. She tells me about how you take her to the park and the zoo; how when you read her stories you use different voices for each character. She tells me about how you let her have smiley face pancakes for lunch and you play games together."

"It doesn't seem like enough sometimes," he admitted. "I mean, sure when it's just her and me it's fine; but then there's always that part of the day when she starts saying 'when's mommy coming home?' and then when Kate gets home; she just wants her all the time. She's never far from where Kate is; she wants her to play, to watch movies with her, cuddle her, tuck her in…she wants Kate to do it all. They have their girl time and it seems so much more special than anything I have. When Kate has to leave unexpectedly, she gets upset; but she never seems upset when I leave."

"Maybe that's because when you leave, it's not as hurried as it sometimes is for Katie. Like today; she had to hurry despite taking the time to explain to McKenzie why she couldn't come with us today. When she has to rush away in the middle of something, I tend to think that maybe it worries McKenzie a little…and of course she doesn't totally understand all of it and so she gets upset because she wants her mommy to stay home. But that's nothing personal against you, Rick. You're able to move at a slower pace when something unexpected comes up that you have to tend to; and that slower pace doesn't have a charged feeling to it for her. You know, we all do our best to explain to her what Katie does…and I think even though we tip toe around it, somewhere inside, McKenzie senses that her mother does something dangerous…and maybe it's part of the reason she clings to her. But there are other reasons for it as well that you don't seem to be considering."

"What's that?"

"She's a little girl; little girls follow their mommies around."

"Alexis was a little girl too…"

"Stop," Johanna said, her hand rising in gesture with the word. "You're comparing again. I'm aware of the fact that Alexis was a little girl once…I was a little girl once too; it's how it works; but anyway, how old was Alexis when Meredith left?"

"Three," Castle answered.

"And before she took her leave; was she around a lot; did they have a strong bond?"

He shrugged. "Alexis loved her of course…"

"Loving her doesn't mean they had a close bond. Was she around much?"

"No; she was always chasing the next role; flying out to LA for days on end for auditions."

"So Alexis didn't have the opportunity to indulge in a little girl's natural inclination to follow her mother. Then Meredith left completely…so again, she had no mother to cling to. Alexis only had you, Rick; and Martha of course…so you can't compare her childhood to McKenzie's. McKenzie has a mother who loves her more than life itself; who wants to be there, wants to do things with her, hates to break a promise. McKenzie has a grandmother who takes care of her at least three days a week while her parents work; who would do anything in this world for her; who is happy to play Barbies and bake cupcakes on a whim. She has another grandmother who lives in her home with her, who makes special time for her. She has a big sister who plays with her and tries to do special things with her when she can. She has a lot of women in her life and that's not a bad thing; she needs all of us in one way or another. She has a grandfather who adores her and is already picking out the pink baseball bat he wants to get her for Christmas. She has a father who loves her. My nieces and nephews have given her little cousins her age to play with. She has a great uncle and a great aunt who love her; she has honorary aunts and uncles. McKenzie has a big world of people who love her and give her their time. Alexis didn't have that; and that's not your fault…but with Alexis having a smaller world, she only had you to cling to. She didn't get the chance to have a bond with her mother; again, no fault of yours. Were Meredith's parents involved in her childhood?"

"Not like you and Jim," he answered. "They'd ask to take her somewhere for a birthday meal or in advance of a holiday…they'd ask to have her two weeks of the summer; but they weren't every day grandparents like Mother always has been."

"Then once again, it shows that her circle was much smaller. With Alexis being so young when Meredith left, did you ever think that maybe she went along with everything you wanted because she was afraid she might lose you too? Children tend to blame themselves, Rick; even ones as young as three. They think if they had just been better, the missing parent might've stayed, so they make sure they do everything to show the remaining parent that they're good…loyal…they don't want to be abandoned again. I'm not saying that Alexis wouldn't have been a daddy's girl if things had been different, she probably would have been; I'm not saying that she hated your way of doing things…I'm just suggesting that there might've been one or two things along the way that maybe she didn't like all that much but went along with anyway because of that fear that she'd displease you and you'd leave like her mother did."

"No; I hadn't thought of that," Castle replied; "Thank you for that depressing thought."

"I wasn't trying to hurt you, Rick; I was just pointing out that it's possible there might've been something she went along with that she didn't like just to please you. McKenzie's growing up in a home with both of her parents, her grandparents are involved; she's got a lot of family that loves her and she's been shown that it's okay for her to say 'hey, I don't like this' and she should feel secure in speaking her mind…she's going to need that one day when she's out there in the real world; and if she gets that trait from me, so be it; but she needs to know it's okay to speak her mind and to have her feelings taken into consideration and respected. That's what will make her a strong woman; that's what all of the women in her life are trying to teach her; that she can be anything, do anything, but that it's also alright to be afraid, to ask for help, to need comfort. She's a little girl, her fears don't make her weak; they make her human, and she will overcome them just as I've overcome mine and Katie has overcome hers."

"I don't mean for it to sound like a bad thing if she has some of your traits."

"And yet you always make it seem that way," Johanna remarked. "I don't deny that she has some of my traits, she does. Jim tells her she has my sassiness...but she also has some of Katie's traits, like her serious side; that's all her mommy. Her need to get her hands dirty; like when she reached into the pumpkin to help scoop out the insides, she gets that from Jim," she said with a smile. "She has Martha's energy; Alexis's compassion. That kindness and like of things to be nice and friendly…she gets that from a woman you never met."

"Who?" Castle asked.

"My mother," Johanna replied. "She has Naomi McKenzie's heart; the need to focus on niceness instead of the bad; to keep things kind and cute…that's her great grandmother lurking in there…and don't you dare try to erase that from her soul. You didn't know my mother…but I see her in McKenzie every day; she's got her nose, she's got her heart…don't break that spirit to try and put her in a mold that she doesn't fit into. Don't be like my father, Rick; don't ever make her feel like she's second best. Don't hold it against her that she takes after someone other than you, although you're not void from her personality. My father held it against me all of my life that I looked like my grandmother; a woman who died long before I was born and who I knew nothing about besides her name and hair color. He held it against me that I had some of her traits. He sacrificed a loving relationship with me because he couldn't get past his own hang-ups and accept me for who I was…and he tried to break me at times; I guess in some misguided effort to drive her from my soul; but I'm still me…he lost every time…but I lost too; because like I said; I didn't have a good relationship with him and I've carried that hurt with me every day of my life; it's still there and it won't ever go away. It's a road you could be headed for…and I don't want that for you or for McKenzie. She loves you; you love her…but you have to accept that she's not Alexis and she doesn't have to be a clone of her sister; nor does she have to be a clone of you. Let her be who she's intended to be, McKenzie Grace Castle; who loves princesses and fairy tales…just like her mommy did and her grandmother always has…and her great-grandmother too."

"I wish I could've known your mother, Johanna," he said quietly.

"I wish you could have too."

"I'm going to do better…I'm going to stop the comparison thing that I didn't realize I was doing so much of; although Kate mentioned it yesterday."

Johanna nodded. "She's mentioned it to me a few times…and it hurts her, Rick. If you keep doing that; you're going to hurt your wife just as much as you're hurting your daughter."

"I don't ever want to hurt them, Johanna."

"I know…but you are and if you don't stop; I'm going to have to hurt you."

He smiled. "I guess I just wonder what she gets from me and how to have my own thing with her when she doesn't want the things I'd hope she would."

"I'll tell you what she gets from you in a moment; but first let me tell you that this thing you feel about her always wanting Katie; that's jealousy and it's not a feeling unique to you…and it's alright that you feel it but you can't allow it to turn you into a raging jackass. It's something you could discuss with your father-in-law…because there were times when he'd be jealous that Katie would follow me around more than him when she was that age. I'll tell you the same thing I told him; do something with her she likes; include her in something you do that she can help with…take her somewhere special, just the two of you. Women of all ages like for a man to show a little effort," Johanna replied.

"I guess I just haven't found the right things yet."

"Oh I don't know…she loves going to the zoo with you; she talks about that for days every time you take her. She likes when you and the monkeys make faces at each other…and how you demonstrate the animal noises…and how you'll walk her around all day so she can see the animals that were sleeping when you began the visit."

"Anything else she's mentioned that's a hit?" he asked.

"She likes when you take her to Remy's for a milkshake."

Castle smiled. "Just like her mother."

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Johanna remarked. "But you'll find little things to do, just like Jim did."

"What did he do?" he asked out of curiosity.

"Well, if he only had one or two small errands to run, he'd take her with him and they'd stop somewhere and get an ice cream cone. One of his methods of stress relief has always been working on a car; so if he was doing something that didn't pose any danger, he'd ask to go out to the garage with him as his special helper and he'd have her hand him his tools. She liked that…and she learned about cars in the process which she also ended up liking. He'd take her to ballgames…sometimes a Happy Meal together as a lunch date. They seemed like little things but they were big things to her. Just like the things you do with McKenzie might seem small or unimportant to you but they're big to her."

He nodded so slowly. "So actually I'm not doing too bad in that area; since we do have some things that we do just the two of us?"

"Yes; she enjoys her time with just you, you never have to worry about that; and if she tells you about what she does with me or Katie or Martha; it's only because she feels comfortable talking to you; telling you about her world…she knows you listen; so don't dwell so much on the topic just because the topic isn't about you; just know that she's talking because she knows you're listening to her."

"Does Jim ever feel that jealousy with McKenzie…because you're right up there with Mommy in her world; does he have trouble with it like when Kate was little?"

"No; he's settled into the grandfather thing very well…because he knows what he's learned as a parent. He makes sure they have something they do that doesn't involve me, even if I'm still in the room; like the pumpkin carving. That's been a Grandpa/Granddaughter plan from the start this season. That was their project. When it's nice out, he takes her out and plays ball with her while I get dinner ready. She likes to look at the sports page with him; so they do that every chance they get; he tells her about the teams and answers the questions about the pictures she sees. When you and Katie allowed us to take her up to the cabin with us for a week over the summer; he took her fishing. I was there, but I had a book…I let them do their thing; have their little talks without input from me. All I did was praise that tiny little fish she caught with that Barbie fishing rod," she said with a laugh. "He told her stories about him and his siblings and how they always went to the cabin in the summer; about when Katie was little and we'd go up there for a weekend or longer. He took her into town, just the two of them to get some things from the store and had a little lunch together. He's got it pretty much figured out this time around."

"She enjoyed her vacation with the two of you," Castle replied. "That's all we heard for a week afterwards, all the things you all did."

"We enjoyed it too; we hope it's a memory she always has and we hope to do it again whenever possible. Just meet her halfway, Rick. She's not into your kind of Halloween this year and she's too little to try to force it; you'll make her act out, as you saw today when she was laying on the floor screaming. She can't come up to your level yet; so come down to hers…do it her way this year; because a few years from now, she'll probably be ready to do it your way and it'll be like you imagined…maybe even better. Just give her time."

"Alright; I'll back off on the scary stuff," he stated; "But I just thought Kate would push harder for her to face her fears."

"Maybe Katie just wants to give her a little time to grow so she can make the choice to face it on her own. Katie's had to face a lot of fears in her life; and some of them she had no choice in, didn't get to take her time and feel her way…so maybe with things like this, she just wants to let McKenzie ease her way into it; to be the one to decide when it's time to stop being afraid and face it. That's not such a bad thing, is it? Especially when she's just a little girl who's just starting to figure things out."

"No, I guess it's not such a bad thing…I guess I just expect her to be like Kate."

Johanna smirked. "She is like her mommy. Katie was a typical child who had her own fears, Rick."

"I just always remember Jim telling me about how she wouldn't take a nightlight; that she had to stare down the fear."

"Yes…but Katie felt like she had to stare down that fear because Elizabeth told her only babies were afraid of the dark; that nightlights were for babies. So she wouldn't take one, because she wasn't a baby…so I put a dim lamp in the hallway on a stand and turned it on every night and left her door ajar so she could see that light glowing in the hallway and still feel like she was a brave girl who didn't need a nightlight."

"I didn't know all of the story," he replied.

"I had a feeling you probably didn't…and just so you know; that same lamp is turned on in the hallway anytime McKenzie spends the night with us."

"She asked for a nightlight yesterday; I got her one."

"Without hesitation or comparison to her sister?"

"No hesitation, no comparison."

"Good. Now as for what McKenzie gets from you; it should be obvious."

"Apparently it isn't," Castle replied.

Johanna gave him an amused smirk as she shook her head. "Her creativity and her imagination. Her love of stories. If you want something special just between the two of you; think in the area of stories."

"We read stories all the time," he remarked.

"More than that, Rick. Have you ever listened to her play Barbies? I mean really listened?"

His brow furrowed. "No, I guess not."

"You should," Johanna said with a smile. "Her Barbies have a lot going on in their world; they've got to go to work, they go the market, they need a doctor, they get lost, they find something, they have all kind of adventures…she's a wonderful storyteller. She has a talent. Help her write a story."

"But she can't write yet."

Johanna sighed. "Rick; don't be a dunce, you're too smart for that. I mean, help her write a story; ask her to tell you a story and you write it for her. I think she'd love it; give it a try one day, see what happens."

"I kind of like that idea," he admitted.

"I bet McKenzie would like it too…and you'll be sharing with her what you do every day as your job."

Castle nodded. "I might give that a try."

Johanna smiled. "See, I have my good points."

"I know you do."

"I'm still going to have to tell Katie about today's incident."

"Didn't doubt it for a moment, Johanna."

"As long as you know it," she replied; "Are we good now; you're not going to throw anymore fits about her being Cinderella?"

"No; it's what she wants so a Disney Princess she will be once again."

"Fine; now let's go see how the tiara selection is going."

* * *

Castle followed Johanna toward the shelf where McKenzie was trying on tiaras and chatting to Chelsea.

"Do you know my mommy's a princess?" McKenzie asked Chelsea.

Chelsea smiled. "No, I didn't know that. How do you know she's a princess?"

"She told me so…she's a princess and I'm a princess and my Grandma is the Queen."

"Wow," Chelsea said with a grin.

"You know what else?"

"What?"

"My mommy's a brave princess."

Chelsea nodded. "I've heard that your mommy is very brave."

McKenzie's head bobbed in agreement, a pink tiara wobbly on her head as she did so. "Mommy's a brave princess because she's a 'tective and keeps people safe."

"That's right, she does," Chelsea stated.

"How did you know that?"

"Because your grandma told me once," she replied.

"In her classroom?"

"Yes."

"Do you know my Grandma's brave?" McKenzie asked.

"I've heard that she is," Chelsea remarked.

"Mommy says she was a brave lawyer and helped people…so that means she's a brave Queen."

Her new friend smiled. "I'm going to be a lawyer when I finish school."

McKenzie smiled. "You must be brave too then! Are you a princess?"

Chelsea laughed softly. "I don't know, do you think I can be?"

"Uh huh; you can be a princess; you got pretty hair. Princesses have pretty hair."

"Awesome," Chelsea replied; "I'm all for being a princess. When I was a little girl like you, I dressed up like Cinderella too."

"Did your daddy get mad?"

"No; my daddy liked Cinderella."

"I wish my daddy liked Cindaella," McKenzie said as she pointed to another tiara to try on.

"I think Daddy likes Cinderella," Johanna stated, making her presence known now that she had gotten the lump out of her throat from hearing her granddaughter describe her and Katie has brave members of royalty. "He's just afraid to admit it."

"Why, Grandma?"

"Because he's silly."

"Did you talk to him?" McKenzie asked.

"I sure did; Rick do you feel punished for your misdeeds?"

"Very," he stated.

"See," she smiled; "I told you that I'd take care of it."

McKenzie smiled and looked at Chelsea. "Grandma takes care of things."

Chelsea nodded. "She's good at that. I heard you're a Queen, Mrs. Beckett."

"Yeah; I heard you just got promoted to princess because you have the hair for it."

Her student laughed. "I can't wait to tell my mom; she always has something to say about my hair."

Johanna laughed with her. "It's toddler approved, she can't say anything about it anymore. Did we find a tiara?"

"She keeps going back and forth between these two," Chelsea said; holding up a small silver tiara that was adorned with pink gemstones and one that had purple gemstones.

"Which one do you like best?" Johanna asked. "The pink or the purple?"

McKenzie scrunched her nose up as she thought about it. "I think the pink one, Grandma."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," McKenzie said as she took the tiara and put it on her head. "Does it look pretty?"

"Beautiful," Johanna told her.

"I think you should get the blue one," Castle stated, stepping around them to pick up a tiara with blue stones.

"No, Daddy; I like pink."

"But your Cinderella dress is blue; so you should get a tiara that has blue stones in it so it'll match."

A stubborn look crossed her face. "I want the pink one."

"But the blue will look better with your dress."

"Rick," Johanna warned.

"I'm just helping her," he stated. "Here, try on the blue one, you'll like it."

"I already tried it," McKenzie stated. "I like the pink princess crown."

"It's called a tiara," Castle corrected gently.

"I like the pink 'ara," she repeated.

"But, sweetie; the blue would match your dress. Cinderella likes blue."

"Cindaella likes pink too; the mice made her a pink dress and those mean girls ruined it," she told him.

"She's right," Johanna told him. "Cinderella's first dress was pink."

"But still; the blue tiara would look better."

"But it's not your tiara," his mother-in-law stated.

"No…but if she's going to be Cinderella; I want her to do it right."

"Rick; there's not really a wrong way at this point; she's got the correct dress and the matching treat bucket."

"Which is why she should have the matching tiara."

"I like the pink one!" McKenzie exclaimed.

"I know, sweetie," he said; "But the blue would be best."

McKenzie put her hand on her hip and eyed him, her green eyes narrowed. "Daddy; you making me mad again!"

He couldn't help but smile as he took his phone from his pocket to snap a picture. She looked like a mini dark haired Kate Beckett with that hand on her hip, that look on her face…and purely McKenzie with that pink tiara askew on her head. "I'm making you mad again?" he asked, his tone laced with amusement.

She pointed a small finger at him. "You are; Grandma's gonna have to talk to you again! You going on time out! Right, Grandma?"

He laughed as he snapped another picture, awaiting his mother-in-law's response. "Rick; do I need to take you aside again?"

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "If want the pink one, jellybean; get the pink one."

"I am," his daughter declared.

"Are you getting sassy?" he asked.

"Uncle Jeff calls Grandma Sassy…he says I'm Little Sassy."

Castle nodded. "You are; you bounce between being like your mommy and your grandma like a ping pong ball."

"Are you calling me names again?" McKenzie asked. "That's not nice; Grandma don't call you a doofus; she says it in her head."

Johanna burst into laughter and had to walk away for a moment. "I'm sorry, Rick," she laughed.

"It's alright," he laughed. "It's my fault; I likened her to a ping pong ball."

"I'm telling Mommy," McKenzie stated.

"Grandma will probably beat you to it," Castle told her as Johanna rejoined their circle.

"Good," his daughter stated as she reached for her tiara. "I want this one, Miss Chelsea."

"Okay then, little princess," Chelsea said with a grin. "I'll go put it with your costume and your treat bucket. Maybe your grandma can help you pick out gloves, because Cinderella wore pretty gloves with her dress."

"Okay," McKenzie said happily. "Grandma let's get gloves."

"I don't think we need gloves," Castle said. "You'll just take them off and I'll have to carry them and we'll end up losing them."

"Cindaella wears gloves," his daughter replied.

"I know; but they'll get lost if you take them off while trick or treating."

She sighed in disgust, her gaze moving to her grandmother. "Grandma."

Johanna smiled sympathetically and swept her granddaughter up in her arms. "We'll look at the gloves and see if they have any small enough to fit you."

"They're just going to get lost," Castle muttered as he followed behind them.

"Even if they do, it'll be cheaper than your expenses on phones that you break or lose…I believe I counted three last year alone," Johanna remarked.

"That's totally different; two of those were in the line of duty."

Johanna glanced at him. "I heard only one was in the line of duty and that the other two were lost to your clumsiness."

"No; one was lost to my clumsiness and the other one was lost to your granddaughter which means it was lost in the line of duty of fatherhood and totally counts!"

"If you say so."

"I say so," he proclaimed.

Once they reached the section where small pairs of satiny gloves hung, there was a sudden debate about whether the gloves should be sky blue or white since rapid Googling by Castle showed images in favor of both colors. The more he debated the colors and why they weren't included with the costume in the first place, the more frustrated McKenzie got and the more Johanna craved a glass of wine.

Johanna sighed deeply as her granddaughter laid her head against her shoulder. She missed her daughter; shopping trips were much more relaxing when it was just the women of the family. Finally, she could take no more of the debate. "Enough," she declared, her tone slightly sharp. "She's getting the blue ones because Cinderella's gloves were blue and they'll match the dress."

"Which is why she should've gotten the blue tiara," Castle muttered as he plucked the smallest size gloves from the rack.

"Pink 'ara, Daddy," McKenzie stated; her tone showcasing that she was growing weary of her father's input.

Johanna patted her back soothingly. "Now that we have everything for your costume, let's go pick you out some Halloween outfits for me to buy you, okay?"

"Okay," her granddaughter replied.

"You really don't have to buy her a Halloween week wardrobe," Castle remarked as they moved to the department where the childrens clothes were.

"I know I don't have to," Johanna said slowly; "But I want to. I want Halloween to be fun for her and it might be more fun if she has a special outfit to wear each day leading up to the holiday. We girls like our special occasion wardrobes."

"I understand your motivation but you're going to be spending a lot of money on clothes she's only going to wear once."

"It's my money," she stated tartly.

"I think it's Jim's money too."

Her eyes narrowed. "Rick; Jim and I live comfortably, we both work…and it's been expressed by my husband that anything our granddaughter needs or wants that we can provide, we'll provide. So don't worry about our money, we're fine. I assure you that every time I walk into a store, Jim expects me to leave it with something for McKenzie in my bag."

Castle nodded. "Believe me, I know you buy her something every time you shop…plus holidays and birthdays…and just because days…"

Johanna eyed him with an arched brow. "Do you have yet another issue for us to deal with?"

"No, ma'am; she's your granddaughter to spoil…and you do it well."

She wrinkled her nose. "Don't call me ma'am; you know I hate that."

"Yes, I know," he said, his gaze sliding away from her, confirming that he had done it just to annoy her.

"Rick; the ice you're skating on is mighty thin today."

"I was just trying to save you some money."

"I think you were just trying to annoy me," she stated as she sat McKenzie down and began to look through the clothes. "Besides, some things, like these little leggings with orange or purple polka dots can be worn all season…especially under that cute little purple skirt my princess just grabbed."

"I like this, Grandma," McKenzie said, holding the skirt up against her waist. "It's got sparklys on it."

"You'll look so pretty in that," Johanna said. "We'll get you these black leggings with the little purple sparkly polka dots to wear under it so your legs don't get cold."

Castle stood by silently as Johanna and McKenzie picked out a tiny pair of leggings that had witches on them and a pair with orange polka dots to match the orange skirt that his daughter had grabbed. Then came a pair with cute little black cats wearing witches hats on them and he imagined his daughter would want to wear those until spring rolled around just because they had cats on them. They chose Halloween themed shirts and when McKenzie spied pajamas bearing the images of Snoopy and Lucy Van Pelt in her Halloween attire; they were added to the pile as well.

"Here's a shirt for you, Johanna," he couldn't help but say, plucking the purple t-shirt from a rack of women's clothing nearby and holding it up for her. "It says 'Head Witch'."

Johanna smirked at him and moved toward him, taking it from his hand. "I like that quite well; I'll wear it to your next book signing, thank you."

"Grandma," McKenzie exclaimed, pulling their attention back to her as she ran to a shelf of books. "It's a book of the Great Pumpkin!"

Johanna smiled. "Get it if you want it, it'll be a Halloween present from me and Grandpa."

McKenzie happily grabbed the storybook from the shelf and then spotted the stuffed Snoopy next to it. "Daddy, it's Snoopy! Can we get Snoopy?"

"Sure, Jellybean; Grandma's buying, she doesn't mind."

McKenzie slid her gaze toward her grandmother. "Grandma?"

"Get it, sweetheart; it's part of your Halloween present from me and Grandpa."

McKenzie grabbed the stuffed Snoopy and held him close to her chest as she returned to Johanna's side. "I think we got everything now," she told her granddaughter; "Let's go back to the front of the store so we can pay."

The little girl ran ahead, stopping suddenly at a display that caught her eye. "Kitty costumes!" she exclaimed. "Let's get Scarlett a costume!"

"I don't think Scarlett would wear a costume, sweetheart," Johanna remarked.

"But, Grandma," Castle said as he brushed past her; "We can't have Scarlett feeling left out of the festivities. At least get her one of these headband like jobs."

"I don't think Scarlett would leave that on," Johanna replied.

"I think you could try for your granddaughter," her son-in-law taunted. "I mean we are coming over to take her trick or treating in your neighborhood so that she can spend the night with you while we have our party…you could at least stick the headband on the cat for a few quick pictures before we go out to get the goodies."

"Get the witchy hat for Scarlett," McKenzie said; pointing at the black hat decorated with yellow stars."

Castle plucked the object from the shelf and handed it to his daughter. "There you go, Grandma will buy that for Scarlett just to make you happy."

"Scarlett isn't going to go for that."

"Won't know unless you try," Castle quipped. "But maybe we're being hasty; maybe we should get Scarlett the devil's horns."

"No!" McKenzie exclaimed. "Devils are mean. Scarlett's a nice kitty."

"How about the one with bats on springs?" he asked.

"My mommy don't like bats!" his daughter declared.

"Neither does Grandma," Johanna stated.

"Big surprise," Castle remarked.

"I picked the witchy hat for Scarlett, Daddy."

"Don't tell me, tell Grandma."

"Grandma."

"I'll get it but I can't promise that Scarlett will let it on for more than a minute, okay?"

"Okay," she replied.

They made their way back to the front of the store and Johanna separated the piles; paying for McKenzie's costume with the money Kate had given her and then handed over her credit card for the rest of the items they had gathered. Chelsea allowed McKenzie to pick the shopping bag she wanted her items in and she chose the cute one of a little black kitten, which Johanna was sure probably irritated Rick since he had advocated for the bag with a ghost on it.

"See you Tuesday, Mrs. Beckett," Chelsea said after saying goodbye to McKenzie.

Johanna gave her a weary smile. "Yeah; if the rest of this day doesn't cause me to be institutionalized."

Her student laughed. "If that happens, I guess the test on Thursday is cancelled."

"Don't go getting excited," Johanna told her as she took McKenzie's hand. "Giving all of you a test might motivate me to stay sane."

"Figures," Chelsea quipped before saying goodbye.

* * *

They made their way outside and back to the car; Johanna handing Rick the bags to put in the trunk as she buckled McKenzie into her carseat. When she finished, her granddaughter sighed and sank back against her seat. "Grandma?"

"What is it, kitten?"

"I think I need a cupcake," McKenzie said; her tone serious and her face showcasing that it hadn't been a relaxing trip for her either.

Johanna smiled. "You need a cupcake?"

"Uh huh."

"Let me get in the car and we'll discuss it, okay?"

"Okay."

Johanna locked and shut the backdoor and then rounded the car and got in as Castle climbed in on the passenger side.

"Can we get cupcakes, Grandma?" her granddaughter asked. "I need one really bad."

She smiled as she turned to look at McKenzie. "You need one bad, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Shopping with a man will stress you out; believe me, I know," Johanna remarked.

McKenzie nodded. "I so stressed right now," she said, her small hands fluttering in punctuation of the remark.

Johanna laughed as her son-in-law eyed them. "I feel your pain, babe," she told her. "I think we do need cupcakes to help ease our pain."

"Do I get a cupcake?" Castle asked.

"No!" McKenzie exclaimed as Johanna started the car. "You was bad!"

"Me?!" he said; "You were the one who threw a tantrum!"

"You made me mad!" his daughter stated.

"You did provoke her, Rick."

"You always take her side," he stated.

"And I always will; I'm the grandmother," Johanna said; "And now we're going to go get cupcakes to take home. Hopefully Mommy will be back before I have to leave."

"I hope Mommy's home soon," McKenzie said. "I want to tell on Daddy."

"It's not nice to be a tattle tale," Castle told her.

"Fine; Grandma will tell her."

"That's right," Johanna said. "Grandma will tell her everything…and then she might need to go see Aunt Maggie and get a glass of wine."

"Why?" McKenzie asked.

"Because your Daddy stressed me out too," she declared.

Her granddaughter nodded. "Daddy's not getting a cupcake."

"Yes, I am," he said; "Because you women stress me out too."

"No, we don't," the little girl stated.

"Alright, I'm turning the music up," Johanna stated; "I can't take one more debate today. Everyone just relax and listen to the music; okay?"

"Cher, Grandma?"

Johanna smiled and hit the button to switch from the radio to the CD player. "I think we do need some Cher in our lives today, kitten…and if Daddy says one word about it like I can tell he's gearing up for, he's going to walk home."

"I learned the rules for riding in your car long ago, Johanna," Castle remarked. "I don't speak while Cher is on."

"Another plus of having Cher in my CD player," she replied as she turned the volume up a little as she headed in the direction of her favorite bakery.

 _A/N: Kate returns in the next chapter..._


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's Note: Thanks for your reviews!_

 _To my reviewer NYAZ; I haven't forgotten that costume item you mentioned; I just have a special use for it coming up in another chapter ;)_

Chapter 7

Martha had been making her way toward the kitchen for a glass of wine when the door of the loft opened; her son stepping inside, Johanna and McKenzie trailing after him. "Well, this doesn't look like a happy bunch," she stated.

"You don't know the half of it," Johanna remarked as she carried the box containing a dozen cupcakes to the table and sat it down.

"That doesn't sound good," Martha remarked as she leaned down to accept McKenzie's hug. "Where's Kate? She said this morning that she was going with you."

"Mommy had to go to work," McKenzie said sadly.

"Oh, darling; I'm sorry," her grandmother said sympathetically.

"It was then supposed to be just McKenzie and I," Johanna remarked, stooping down to help McKenzie take off her boots as Martha took the jacket the little girl shrugged out of. "But Rick spotted us in the garage as we were getting in the car."

"And you wish he hadn't?"

"Very much. Don't ever go shopping with your son, Martha."

"Believe me, dear; I avoid it at all costs. I have too many bad memories of back to school shopping."

"I have bad shopping memories too, Mother," Castle remarked; "I remember a wedding dress I went with you to buy; you're third wedding dress to be exact…that I paid for…that I sometimes feel like I'm still paying for…"

"I didn't ask you to pay for it, Richard; you volunteered."

"But still."

"I wish Grammy would've went with us," McKenzie exclaimed as they moved toward the table.

Johanna nodded. "Yes, that definitely would've been more fun."

"Richard," Martha said, her gaze sliding to her son. "What did you do to these girls? They look like they've gone through a battle."

"That's because they're dramatic like you, Mother."

His mother eyed him knowingly. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," he stated.

Johanna scoffed. "Didn't do anything? He nitpicked everything; he harassed McKenzie about her costume so much that she had a screaming tantrum right there in the middle of the aisle which was topped off by throwing herself on the floor."

Martha's jaw dropped in shock. "Our McKenzie?" she asked; her hand falling atop McKenzie's head.

"Our baby girl," Johanna confirmed; "But you would've been proud, it was a hell of a high note; sure to be heard from the stage to back of any Broadway theater."

"On that note I'm thrilled," Martha declared; "But she's never done anything like that before. I've taken her many places and she's always been well behaved and polite."

"I know; I made the same statement to your son…and yet in his opinion, it's mine and Katie's fault that she had a tantrum while he was annoying her."

"For God's sake, Richard," his mother declared. "What the hell were you doing?"

He sighed. "All I was doing was trying to convince her to be something other than a princess."

"She's a little girl; little girls want to be princesses," Martha declared. "What's wrong with you?"

"I just want her to like Halloween!" he exclaimed.

"Well provoking her into a rage is certainly going to accomplish that, isn't it?" she asked. "Really, Richard; let her be what she wants. It's for one night, what does it matter?"

"I'm just growing weary of the princess obsession," he muttered.

Johanna rubbed her temples. "Give it a rest, Rick. I thought we had already been over all of this and how you can't make her like the things you like."

"I know and I understand but that doesn't mean that I can't be disappointed that she doesn't share my love of all things spooky."

"You'll survive," Martha stated; "Perhaps she'll enjoy that side of things when she's older. Give the child a chance to grow."

"I've already got a mother lecture, but thanks for offering an encore," Castle replied.

"Well you can't go around provoking a three year old to the point she has a tantrum in public."

"Johanna, you're a tattle tale," he declared.

"Don't call my Grandma names," McKenzie declared. "That not nice; 'member, Grandma don't call you a doofus…just in her head where mean words stay!"

Martha burst into laughter. "That's priceless."

Castle eyed his daughter. "My apologies to your grandmother…whose memory prowess you obviously inherited because you don't forget a single thing she tells you, just like she never forgets a single thing either."

McKenzie nodded. "I listen to my Grandma."

"See, Johanna; there's that influence thing I was telling you about," he stated.

"Rick," Johanna said; "I'm thinking words in my head…the child appropriate version comes out to 'bite me'."

He smirked at her. "I'm pretty sure Jim keeps you covered in that area, so I'll take a pass."

Martha smiled as she caught Johanna's eye. "World you like a glass of wine, darling?"

"Yes, half a glass, please."

The redhead glanced at her son. "Johanna's drinking; you must've been horrible."

"I wouldn't say horrible."

"Let's call it what it was," Johanna stated; "You were a pain in the ass. McKenzie, don't repeat that."

"I don't say bad words anymore; I got in big trouble," her granddaughter replied.

"Yes, I know…I'm just glad it was a word you learned from your mother and not me," Johanna said.

"I said a little prayer of thanks about that one too," Martha said quietly. "McKenzie, would you like some juice?"

"Yes."

"In the box or in your cup?"

"Cup; two cubes, please," she answered.

Castle shook his head. "Once again, it's proven that my child is both of her grandmothers rolled into one."

Johanna looked to Martha. "He always says that with an ounce of disdain in his voice."

"He does, doesn't he?" she agreed.

"He does…and personally I think if she's like both of us that it's a great thing and exactly what he deserves."

"I'll drink to that," Martha declared as she poured two glasses of wine.

"Daddy stressed me out, Grammy."

Martha chuckled as she got McKenzie's sippy cup and the juice from the fridge. "He's been known to do that, kiddo."

"Grandma feels a little stressed too," Johanna muttered.

"That's why we got cupcakes," McKenzie stated. "We so stressed right now. Will you eat a cupcake with me and Grandma, Grammy?"

"Of course I will, I never turn down a cupcake," Martha stated as she carried the glasses to the table.

Johanna rose from the table and went to the kitchen and grabbed three small plates and forks and then returned to the table. She untied the string around the box and lifted the lid. "Alright, kitten; which cupcake do you want?"

"That one with purple sprinkles and the kitty on it," she said; pointing to the cupcake that had white icing and a Halloween pic of a black cat stuck amongst the purple sprinkles.

Johanna took the cupcake from the box and peeled off the paper, placing it on a plate and sitting it down in front of McKenzie and handing her a fork.

"You get a kitty one too, Grandma," her granddaughter stated.

"Alright," she said, selecting the choice that had been made for her. "Which one does Grammy get?"

"A pumpkin one," McKenzie declared.

Johanna picked up the cupcake that had a pumpkin pic stuck in it and put it on the plate for Martha. "Here you go, Grammy," she said as she handed the plate to her.

"Thank you."

"Which cupcake do I get?" Castle asked.

"None," his daughter stated. "You were bad."

"Me!?" he exclaimed. "You're the one who threw a tantrum."

"You provoked her," Johanna stated. "It's like a self defense thing in this case."

He glanced at her. "Did she ask for a lawyer?"

Johanna met his eye. "I'm always on duty when it comes to my favorite client."

"I'm taking this cupcake," he stated, reaching into the box to grab the one that had purple icing and black sprinkles.

"No!" McKenzie exclaimed. "That's my special cupcake for my mommy!"

"Why does Mommy get a special cupcake?" he asked.

"Cause her loves me," she replied. "I'm her bff."

"And what am I?" Castle asked.

"You my Daddy."

"Aren't you my bff?" he asked.

McKenzie shook her head. "Lexis is your bff."

Johanna looked at her son-in-law, her brow raised and a silent 'didn't I tell you so?' in her gaze.

"But I love you just as much as Alexis," he told her. "And you love me, right?"

"I love you, Daddy, but you can't have my mommy's cupcake. I picked that just for Mommy."

"Why didn't you pick me out a special cupcake?" he asked.

"Because you made me mad!" his daughter declared.

"Really, Rick," Johanna said as she peeled the paper off of her cupcake; "You should know by now that women don't reward a man for making her mad."

"That's true," Martha quipped.

He selected a different cupcake, McKenzie eyeing him as he did so. "Is it okay for me to have the ghost one?" he asked.

"Yes; but I'm still mad at you," she answered.

"Why?"

"Cause, you didn't want me to be Cindaella and it made me sad," McKenzie remarked as she carefully used her fork as her grandmother was doing.

"I just wanted you to think about other costumes, sweetie," he stated. "It doesn't hurt to think about scarier costumes."

"I don't like other ones."

Johanna took a sip of her wine, seeing the battle reigniting. "Martha, cut me off after the second glass…this day feels like it could lead to overindulgence and Jim's meeting me here after his golf game so that we can ride home together."

"No problem," the actress said with a laugh.

"I can't believe the three of you use a fork to eat a cupcake," Castle remarked.

"It's called being ladylike, Rick," Johanna replied. "Women don't like getting icing all over their face when they just bite into it."

Martha nodded. "Yes; that icing up the nose look is only cute when you're an infant…after that it's entirely unappealing. McKenzie, what costume did you get?" she asked; wanting to be sure that her granddaughter had gotten what she wanted.

"Cindaella," she answered happily. "It's a pretty dress."

"I bet it is; you're going to be a beautiful Cinderella."

"I got a Cindaella bucket too! It's a carriage!"

"Oh my," Martha said with a smile; "You're going to be the envy of all the other girls."

"And I got a princess crown."

"Tiara," Castle corrected.

"I got my 'ara," she stated.

"After a debate with Daddy about which one to get," Johanna remarked; "Which was followed by a debate about the gloves to go with the dress; and all of it was preceded by a debate about which treat bucket she should get."

"Richard," Martha chastened.

"Well if she's going to do it, she may as well do it right."

His mother gave a short laugh. "Advice you've failed to take at times."

"Touché."

"Poor Johanna looks like she has a headache," Martha remarked.

"I do," she confirmed. "It was starting at the Halloween store but then when we hit the bakery and they had to argue about the cupcakes…well that pretty much unleashed it. I begged him to stay in the car…he wouldn't listen."

"Daddy was bad all day," McKenzie stated; "And we're telling Mommy."

"Tattle tales, both of you."

"I'm telling Mommy you called me a name," his daughter stated. "You're gonna be on time out forever."

"Mommy won't punish me that long."

"Her might," his daughter argued.

"We'll see."

"We will," McKenzie replied.

Castle eyed her. "Are you determined to get the last word?"

"Uh huh."

"Quit while you're ahead, Richard," Martha stated. "You've done ignited her feisty side, you can't win."

"I think I could," he remarked.

"No, you can't," McKenzie said.

Johanna laughed softly. "You really should quit, Rick; she's dipping her toes into those Beckett genes."

Castle smirked at her; she said that like his daughter wasn't completely submerged in Beckett genes every day of her life.

* * *

Castle grew quiet as the cupcakes were finished and the chatter of the women somehow lead to Johanna grabbing the string from the bakery box and tying it so she and Martha could show McKenzie how to play Cat's Cradle as an example of a game they had played as girls.

"How long as it been since you've done this?" Martha asked Johanna as she slipped the string over her fingers in the manner required.

Johanna sighed. "I remember showing Katie and my niece Claire…they were about nine and ten at the time…so…it's been a good while. How about you?"

Martha laughed. "Even longer."

"Then we should both be nice and rusty at this," she quipped as Martha moved to a chair closer to her and McKenzie stood by their sides to watch.

"Most likely, but here it goes," the redhead declared as she carefully maneuvered the strings onto her own fingers. "I'll be damned, I did it!"

"Yay, Grammy!" McKenzie said, clapping her hands.

Martha winked at her granddaughter. "Now Grandma has to try and get it back on her fingers."

"Which is where it could fall apart," Johanna laughed as she studied the strings.

Castle watched with interest as his mother-in-law managed to successfully transfer the string to her fingers, another round of clapping and cheering from their granddaughter. It never failed to amaze him; just a few years before his mother and Johanna had constantly been at each other's throats. Now they could chat amicably, share babysitting duties and once a month, took McKenzie out for a joint grandma day. He supposed it was some sort of a miracle…and sometimes the bane of his existence as they seemed to have some secret information sharing sessions and never hesitated to align in defense of their granddaughter, whether she needed defending or not.

It was still odd though sometimes, to see them get along and he still wondered what exactly had been discussed between the two women at a lunch Johanna called for shortly before McKenzie's birth. All his mother would tell him was that it had been a meeting of minds and that they had come to the agreement that their grandchild was more important than their own personal war with one another. It appeared as though a peace had been brokered, and they had stuck to it even through the awkward first months where they carefully found their footing with one another. They had managed, through effort on both of their parts and now co-existed peacefully.

Yes, they had gone from insults to giggling together while playing Cat's Cradle for their granddaughter's entertainment…they had come a long way, he thought, watching the string being swapped back and forth between their hands until finally Johanna failed at successfully transferring it back to her fingers.

"Game over," Johanna said; "But we did better than we thought we would, Martha."

"That's true," she stated.

"Can I do it?" McKenzie asked.

"Oh, darling, I think your hands might be a little too small still," Martha told her gently. "You might have to wait until they're a little bigger."

"I wanna try now."

"Okay, you can try," Johanna said, allowing her to take the string.

McKenzie tried to pull the strings onto her fingers the way her grandmothers had but soon realized that she couldn't quite do it yet. "I can't do it, Grandma."

"Well that's okay; you'll get the hang of it one day. We'll practice sometimes, okay?"

"Okay."

"I might know a trick you can do though," Johanna said as she took the string back. "Do you remember Witch's Broom, Martha?"

Martha thought for a moment. "Yes, I recall it but I'm not sure I remember how to do that one."

"I think I remember how to do it right," Johanna said as she looped the string over her thumb and pinky.

She moved slowly, concentrating on the moves so that McKenzie could study them and when she was finished, McKenzie's eyes lit up, her hands clapping together. "It looks like a broom!"

"That's right, it's a witch's broom," Johanna replied. "I bet you can do that one, it's easier. Do you want to try, I'll tell you what to do?"

"Yes, I want to make witchy's broom," her granddaughter stated, eagerly accepting the string.

Johanna walked her through the steps and when she pulled the final string and created the broom, a wide smile broke across her lips. "Look, Grammy, I did it!"

"You sure did," Martha praised, clapping her hands for her. "You'll have to show your mommy that you can do that."

"I will," McKenzie said. "You try, Grammy."

"I could try," Castle stated; pushing his way into the conversation.

"No, I want Grammy to do it," his daughter replied.

"Why can't I try?"

"Cause I playing with Grandma and Grammy," she answered.

He felt stung and his mother must've noticed as she took the string from McKenzie's hand. "Oh, Richard; don't take it so personally. We're the ones playing with her so she thinks it's our game…and you did upset her earlier so it really shouldn't surprise you that she might still be miffed about how things went between the two of you today."

"I thought kids were supposed to have short memories," he muttered.

"Alexis didn't have a short memory," Martha quipped; throwing his knack of comparisons in his face.

"Low blow, Mother."

"And yet so well deserved," she stated.

He smirked at her. "So am I totally unneeded here or will you ladies be heading out sometime soon?"

"Careful, Richard; we might think you want us to leave."

"Can I go too?" McKenzie asked.

Castle looked at her. "You'd leave me here by myself?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Cause I mad at you!" McKenzie exclaimed.

"But I said I'm sorry," Castle replied. "Don't you forgive, Daddy?"

"I forgive you, Daddy; but I still mad at you."

He nodded as he eyed her. "Yeah; you're just a mini Johanna Beckett; no doubt about it."

"No, I not; my name is McKenzie Grace Castle…but Mommy said that Grandma's name used to be McKenzie until her married Grandpa. I gots a special name."

"That's right, you do," he replied; "But you could forgive Daddy and stop being mad at him."

McKenzie shook her head. "I forgive you but I still mad…we're telling Mommy on you and you'll be sorry."

"I'm already sorry," he stated.

"You will be more sorry," McKenzie told him.

Martha chuckled. "That's most likely true."

"And in answer to your question, Rick; I'm here until Jim gets finished golfing and Jeff drops him off."

"Why?" her son-in-law asked.

"Because it was Jeff's turn to drive to the golf course and he's not going straight home after their game so he's supposed to drop Jim off here and we'll ride home together. I told Katie all of this on the phone this morning before I came over…but if it's a problem, I can go sit at a coffee shop or book store and have him meet me there."

"No, I don't want Grandma to go yet," McKenzie cried.

"Grandma can stay as long as she likes," he remarked; although a part of him wished that she would go for the sole reason that he felt off kilter about the whole day and his daughter wasn't likely to make up to him with her around.

"I don't have to; I can go, it's not a problem," Johanna told him.

"No, stay; if you don't, she'll cry and blame me and apparently I'm in a deep enough hole today."

"Richard," his mother chastened. "Why are you being so impossible today?"

"I don't know," he said honestly.

Johanna had never entirely shaken the belief that her son-in-law didn't care much for her and if the look on his face was any indication, she was sure he'd rather her go. "Give me hugs and kisses," she told McKenzie. "I'm going to go wait on Grandpa at his golf game."

"No," she cried, throwing herself into her grandmother's arms. "I don't want you to go, please stay with me. Me and you and Grammy can watch Cindaella, please, Grandma, don't leave me. We need to wait on Mommy."

"Stay, Johanna," Castle stated as he rose from his chair. "If you upset her by leaving, it's just going to irritate me. She wants to watch a movie with you and Mother, so I'll go do some writing since you're both here and on entertainment duty."

"You stay, Grandma?" McKenzie asked.

She brushed her hand over McKenzie's dark curls and nodded against her better judgment. "I'll stay."

"Now that that's settled; I'll leave you ladies alone," he remarked, moving through the loft as headed toward his office.

"Don't worry about it, Johanna," Martha told her softly. "He's just angry because he knows he's been wrong all day and you told him so. Now let's go watch Cinderella and make our girl happy."

She smiled and nodded, rising from her chair as McKenzie's hand slipped into hers. "I heard there's supposed to be a special showing of The Sound of Music sometime next month at one of the theaters on Broadway; have you heard about it?"

"Movie or the actual musical?" Martha asked.

"The movie."

She nodded as they made their way toward the sofa. "I have heard some murmurings about an anniversary showing but I believe it's still in the planning stages."

"If you find out more about it, let me know; I thought maybe you and I could take McKenzie to see it," Johanna replied. "It's always been one of my favorites."

"I think that's a great idea," Martha remarked; "It could be our Grandmother day activity; we could go out to eat afterwards. I'll check around…and if I can throw my name around a little to get us good tickets, I will," she said with a wink.

She laughed. "It'll be our secret."

"Don't hide secrets under the bed," McKenzie remarked as she found her Cinderella DVD and handed it to Martha to put in. "People find them."

Johanna nodded. "I heard about that animal cracker box under your bed."

"Uh huh; now I gotta find a new hiding place."

Martha laughed. "The trials and tribulations of being a three year old."

"Yeah; it's rough," she agreed with a laugh; "Although today, I'd say she really did have a tough go of it."

"Agreed," the actress replied as she put the movie in; "But maybe she'll feel better after the movie and when her mommy gets home."

"Is Mommy coming home soon?" McKenzie asked as she settled on the cushion between her grandmothers.

"I'm sure she'll be home soon, sweetheart," Johanna told her. "And Grandpa will come in and see you for a few minutes when he gets here too. If you get sleepy during the movie, you curl up here and go to sleep, Grammy and I will stay right here with you, okay?"

"Kay, Grandma," she murmured as she curled up against Johanna's side.

Martha caught Johanna's eye. "I give her a half hour."

She nodded, feeling her granddaughter's weight sagging against her, a sure sign that a short nap was imminent. "Or less."

* * *

A couple hours later, Kate walked through the door of the loft, carrying three Happy Meals; the only thread of promise she had been able to keep for the day. She carried them to the counter, quietly going unnoticed until a tiny being sprung up from the cushion on the sofa between her grandmothers.

"Mommy!" McKenzie exclaimed, climbing down from the couch and running toward her.

Kate swept her daughter up in her arms and held her tightly, pressing a kiss against her head as she thought about the little boy who thankfully had been saved an hour before. He hadn't been much older than McKenzie…and as those running the investigation from the bullpen watched the footage of the rescue effort as it was streamed from the scene, he had cried for his mommy as Ryan carried him to safety. The boy's frantic famous mother had been in the precinct under police protection; his security guard dead and his nanny in critical condition. Kate breathed deeply; all she had been able to think about was her little girl who was out shopping with her grandmother. She and Johanna had already had their brushes with deadly fates…she prayed to God that her daughter would never know such fear.

"I missed you, Mommy," McKenzie stated as she clung to her mother.

"I missed you too, Baby," she murmured. "But it's okay now, I'm home." She had wanted to call and check in on them every ten minutes; one mother's fear igniting another's…she had even caught a glimpse of Gates studying the picture of her own children in her office before forcing herself to shake off whatever maternal urges she had been feeling. Kate had been forced to shake off hers as well; a little five year old boy had been depending on all of them. There hadn't been time for wellbeing calls; she had only been able to console herself with the thought that her trust in her mother's caretaking ran as deep as it could.

"Are you okay, Katie?" Johanna asked as she neared them, sitting her empty wineglass on the counter.

Kate blinked back the sting of tears. "Yeah…just a tough case."

Johanna gave her a knowing look. "A child?"

Kate didn't like to say the words 'murder' or 'homicide' in front of her daughter. Those words would bring questions about their definitions…and she didn't want her little girl's mind tainted with those thoughts while she was still so young. "His security guard," she stated, knowing her mother would put the pieces together. His nanny is critical but stable. The suspect took him as a vendetta against his mother."

"Is he alright?"

She gave her a wobbly smile. "He's a little banged up but he's okay."

"Thank God," her mother breathed. "The suspect?"

"He got what he deserved," Kate said, her gaze fixed upon her mother's.

Johanna nodded. "The child's mother will rest easier that way."

Kate tightened her hold on McKenzie. "All I could think about was my own…the two of you out together. I couldn't call and check in…I knew she was safe with you…but I wished I could call."

Her mother rubbed a soothing hand against her arm. "It's only natural, Katie. But you know I guard her with my life."

"I know…but I don't want to lose _anything_."

"I know the feeling," Johanna replied quietly; "That's why I'm counting down the days until you're a Captain."

"Mommy, why you sad?" McKenzie asked.

She conjured up a small smile for her daughter. "There was a little boy we had to help…he got separated from his mommy and he missed her a lot. We had to help him get back to her."

"Is he with his mommy now?" her daughter asked.

"Yes, he's with his mommy; he's okay now."

"I bet he was scared," McKenzie stated. "I would be scared if I was lost."

"I would be scared too," Kate said; "So now you know why we always tell you to stay with us or stay right where we can see you…because we don't ever want you to get lost."

"I know," the little girl replied before pressing a kiss to her mother's lips. "I got you a special cupcake."

Kate laughed. "You did?"

"Uh huh; it will make you feel better."

"I think you're right. How did you con Grandma into getting cupcakes?"

McKenzie eyed her mother seriously. "Daddy stressed us out so bad that we needed cupcakes to ease our pain."

"Daddy?" Kate asked, her gaze shifting to her mother.

"Oh yeah," Johanna said.

She sighed. "Cupcakes and you had a wine glass in your hand…do I even want to know?"

"You must know," her mother told her. "Telling you has been the only thing that has gotten me through the day."

Martha chuckled as she neared the trio. "Your husband is hiding in his office in case you were wondering."

"Cupcakes, wine, and hiding…this isn't good," Kate declared. "Martha, if I had known you were home, I would've brought you a Happy Meal too."

"Oh that's alright, darling. I had a cupcake and before that I ate very well at my brunch meeting about that new production I'm interested in co-producing."

"Are you shifting gears, Martha?" Johanna asked.

"Well, I admit, I am intrigued by the idea of producing this play with a friend of mine. I like the material and it might be fun to be the person doing the bossing instead of the person being bossed," she said with a wink.

Johanna laughed. "I thought in your business they called it being 'directed'."

"That's just a nice word for bossing an actor around," Martha quipped.

"The truth is out," Johanna remarked.

"You heard it here first," the redhead replied.

"Mommy, did you get me a Happy Meal?" McKenzie asked.

"Yes, I got Happy Meals for you, me, and Grandma."

"Chicken nuggets?" her daughter asked.

Kate smiled. "Would I ever get you a Happy Meal that wasn't chicken nuggets?"

"I hope not," McKenzie replied seriously.

"You don't have to worry; it's nuggets…and you can have my toy as always."

"Yay!"

"Mommy's starved so let's sit down and eat. I want to make sure Grandma eats hers too since she was drinking wine."

"I didn't overindulge, Katie."

"I know, but you don't drink often."

"Your husband drove me to it."

"I know the feeling. He didn't even leave me a message saying he was home…and I know by now, he knows I'm here, so he's in there preparing his defense for whatever the hell he did now."

"He was too busy harassing your mother and daughter to text," Martha remarked. "I'll join you all at the table for the re-telling of this tale."

"It's that good, huh?" she asked as she sat McKenzie on her feet.

"It was an experience," Johanna remarked. "But before we get on that topic, to make you feel better; I plan on making your father drive home when he gets here; not that I don't feel capable of it, but to put your mind at ease."

"I appreciate that," Kate replied as she grabbed the Happy Meals and gestured everyone toward the table.

* * *

Once they were settled with their meals and drinks, Kate asked Johanna to tell her what had happened. Her mother told her how Castle had spotted them in the garage and invited himself along for the shopping trip. She spoke about the debate over McKenzie's treat bucket and his obvious disdain for the cutesy items geared toward little girls which went against his sense of Halloween tradition. She told her how she had gone to ask about getting the Cinderella costume in a size 3T and that while she was doing that, Castle pressured McKenzie to change her mind resulting in the child screaming and throwing herself on the floor and crying for her mommy.

Johanna detailed the talk she had given McKenzie and the things her granddaughter had told her about how her father had upset her and the giving of her 'bravery stone' that was still tucked safely in her granddaughter's pocket. She went on and detailed her discussion with Castle, using vague descriptions and spellings that Kate deciphered that McKenzie couldn't. She discussed his nitpicking over the tiara and the gloves; his comments about buying McKenzie a Halloween themed wardrobe. She told Kate how he had picked her out a shirt that said "Head Witch". Johanna finished the tale of their day with their trip to the bakery and the debate she was forced to have with Castle about whether it had been appropriate for McKenzie to ask the woman at the counter not to give her cupcakes decorated with bats, vampires and skulls.

Kate sighed deeply as she looked across the table at her daughter who was picking up one of her fries to pop into her mouth. "Sounds like you had a rough day, baby girl."

"Yeah," McKenzie replied; "Daddy wasn't being nice. I wish it was just me and Grandma shopping."

"I don't blame you for feeling that way," she told her. "I'm going to have to have a talk with Daddy."

"Grandma tried that, it didn't work," McKenzie replied.

Kate smiled. "Maybe Mommy will get through to him."

"I hope so."

Johanna patted her granddaughter's hand. "Do you see Grammy?" she asked, pointing at the redhead at the end of the table.

"Yes," McKenzie answered.

"Grammy is Daddy's mommy; whenever he's bad, you make sure Grammy knows and she'll help Mommy talk him into the right direction."

"That's right, kiddo," Martha stated; "You tell me anything you want about him and I'll help take care of it."

"Okay, Grammy."

Kate smiled as she looked at her mother. "I'm sorry about your day, Mom."

"It's alright, sweetheart; it's not your fault. We got through it."

"Yeah; but if I hadn't been called to work it would've been the three of us…because I would've put my foot down and he wouldn't have gone."

Johanna gave her a small smile of her own. "I thought about doing that myself but I thought if I did he might not let me take McKenzie…and then she probably wouldn't have gotten the costume of her choice."

"And that would've been his biggest mistake," Kate remarked seriously. "I can't believe he hasn't come out of his office yet."

"He's probably hoping I'll be gone before you get to him," Johanna said; "I don't think he was too thrilled to know that I was waiting here for your father."

"Too bad; you told me when we talked on the phone this morning that he and Jeff were riding together to the golf course and that Jeff would drop him off here to ride home with you because he's going to see Chrissy."

"He should be coming here soon."

Kate shrugged. "I don't care how long you stay; you can spend the night if you want."

"You can sleep in my room, Grandma!" McKenzie exclaimed.

Johanna laughed as she pressed a kissed against her dark hair. "I appreciate the offer, sweetie; but Grandpa would miss me."

"Oh look," Martha murmured; "The bear is sneaking out of his den, acting oblivious to the other inhabitants in the woods."

"You're home," Castle stated as he walked through the loft.

Kate smirked at him. "Yeah, I'm sure you've known that for awhile now."

He shook his head. "I was writing; I was in the zone."

His wife eyed him. "You were in the zone, huh? What about our daughter?"

Castle shrugged. "She's taken care of; she has both of her grandmothers here and made it clear she preferred their company."

"Oh for God's sake," Martha muttered.

"It's the truth," he stated.

"I can't imagine why she might feel that way today," Johanna remarked.

He smirked at her. "Did you file your report, Queen Tattle Tale?"

"Stop calling my Grandma names!" McKenzie exclaimed around a bite of nugget.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," he admonished.

"You do," his daughter shot back.

"I'm sensing a great amount of discord between you and our daughter," Kate remarked.

Castle sighed. "I'm sure you know all about it given your mother's love to chat but it was just a misunderstanding."

"Sure it was," she retorted. "Why didn't you let me know you were back?"

"It slipped my mind," her husband stated.

"It slipped your mind?" Kate asked. "All this time and you still didn't think about it?"

"Well apparently you weren't worried; I haven't heard from you either."

Her eyes narrowed. "I was working on a high priority case, I didn't have time to call and check on my child let alone you."

Castle smirked. "I guess I'm just second best everywhere."

"Really?" she asked. "You're going to play that card?"

"Well it's the truth."

"Let's just cut through the crap," Kate stated. "You were out acting like an ass today and upset our child; now you want to pout and play the victim."

"Yeah, I figured that's how you'd see it."

"How else am I supposed to see it?" she exclaimed.

"You're supposed to see that I only went along with good intentions and to show McKenzie that there are other options besides being a princess."

"No, you went to push what you wanted on her. Her choice had already been made and you had no right to push to the point that she had a tantrum; and how dare you blame the fact that she had one on my mother and I. From what I hear, my mother was at the counter inquiring about a size 3T and I was at work. You were with McKenzie. You pushed because you can't accept that she's not like you and she threw a tantrum. That's on you! Not us!"

"I made the statement because the two of you spoil her and allow her to have her way all the time without question."

"That's not true!"

"Isn't it?" he asked. 'I mean she had a screaming fit and threw herself on the floor; and your mother buys her a Halloween wardrobe and cupcakes…kind of seems like a reward for bad behavior, don't you think?"

"Hey," Johanna said sharply. "I did not reward her for bad behavior. I told her she was wrong, I made her apologize to you, although I'm starting to regret it. I bought her the clothes for the week leading up to Halloween in effort to help her have fun and so she'd have another thing to like about it…which is what you want. I bought her the cupcakes because she asked for them because she needed a pick me up after dealing with you! I thought we had discussed today's issues and had gotten past the big ones while McKenzie was trying on tiaras with my student; but I see now that I was wrong as all you've done since we got back is sulk and act like you're the wounded party."

"She's right about the sulking," Martha agreed.

"Yeah, I can see that," Kate remarked; "And I don't think McKenzie saw clothes as a reward for a tantrum. She knows that when she's wrong she gets talked to and she has to apologize and it's done; unless it's something major that deserves a bigger punishment. She didn't deserve more than what she got today because you instigated it, Castle. Why didn't you just come to the precinct when you were told I was there?"

"Because I wanted to go costume shopping. I thought I could show her that there were other options…but rest assured, she got exactly what she wanted, because as she told me, Grandma would make sure she did."

"You're damn right," Johanna stated firmly. "Katie gave me the money and told me what to get and I was going to get it for her one way or another, even if I had to pay for it myself."

"Yes, I know…and she knows it too. You know, it's difficult enough to have a place amongst all the girls days, girls talks, girls whatever that everyone has together. All I wanted was to have my daughter enjoy one of my favorite holidays in the way it's meant to be celebrated; but no…you all have to make it nice and cutesy and Disney friendly…which doesn't help alleviate her fears anymore than that pink rock you put her in her pocket, Johanna."

"You're wrong," his mother-in-law stated; "That pink rock has been alleviating fears for generations; I thought you of all people would understand that special brand of placebo like magic…and would encourage it."

"Yeah," Kate said; "Since when did you get logical? I had one of those pink rocks in my pocket my whole first week of kindergarten, just so you know."

"I'm not saying it won't hold the power you give it…I'm just saying that all of you don't leave me any room."

"Rick," his wife said sharply; "You can't make her like something that she doesn't enjoy yet. You two do plenty of things together."

"Yeah; but she still prefers everyone else."

"She's a little girl! Little girls like to be among other girls!"

"Alexis…"

"I swear to God," Kate said tartly; "If you say what I think you're going to say, you will regret it."

"Besides," Johanna said; "I already explained this angle to you earlier. Alexis didn't have as many options as McKenzie does. Now get the burr out of your ass and settle down. There's no reason for you to be so up in arms about this."

"Well that's a matter of opinion," Castle retorted. "When will you be on your way? Surely Jim is through golfing by now."

"Don't you talk to my mother like that," his wife said sharply before Johanna could utter a word. "This is my home too and she'll stay here as long as she pleases."

"Yeah, her will spend the night!" McKenzie declared.

Martha couldn't help but laugh. "She's a feisty little thing, isn't she?"

Johanna nodded. "She's a McKenzie…that Irish and Italian blood is flowing freely. Katie; I'll always make sure to have your bed ready from you; because when she gets to be about twelve or thirteen; your husband and daughter are most likely going to have one blow out after another if they keep going in this direction. I'll keep rooms ready for both of you."

"For me?" Castle asked.

"No. God, no," Johanna declared. "You stay here with your own mother and they'll come be with me."

"Don't push him off on me," Martha stated.

"All I've got left is the couch, Martha," Johanna told her; "Unless you want to sleep in my chair in my attic library."

"I'll take the couch," the redhead replied.

"You all think you're cute, don't you?" Castle asked.

"Grandpa says we adorable," McKenzie told him.

"That's because Grandpa's got a weakness for green eyed women," her father replied.

"Thank God," Johanna stated.

Kate chuckled softly. "Yeah; our lives would've been more difficult if he didn't have that weakness."

"So true," her mother replied.

Castle exhaled a heavy breath. "All I wanted was for Halloween to be celebrated the way it was intended to be; with spooks and harmless scares. All I wanted was to share this love with my child as I did with my first child…but no; everyone has to make it cutesy and spoil the true flavor of the holiday."

"Well maybe it's time for you to experience Halloween in a different manner," Kate suggested. "The un-scared way…I promise you'll survive it."

"I'm not so sure about that," he muttered.

She eyed him. "You're being a bigger baby than the one I'm carrying in my womb."

"Daddy wanted to put fake blood on my Cindaella dress and make me a yucky zombie girl," McKenzie announced.

Kate's eyes widened, her jaw tightened. "Are you out of your mind?"

"What? What's wrong with a zombie princess?" he asked.

"You will never put fake blood on my baby!" she exclaimed.

"What if she wanted it?"

"No; not at this young age," she stated. "If she was a teenager, it would be different, but until then, no…I won't have fake blood on my baby."

"Why not? It washes off," he replied.

Angry tears glittered in her eyes. "Because I've seen enough of the real thing and I don't want to see it on my child, fake or not…not with the kind of brushes our family has already had. No…makeup is fine; fake blood is where I draw the line and you won't be putting any on her. She's being Cinderella and that's all there is to it so I suggest you get over it. Go do all your pouting and brooding about it and Get. Over. It."

Castle chose his words carefully. "I do understand where you're coming from about the fake blood…it's not an option. I didn't think about it as anything other than theatrical but I can see how you feel about it given past history."

"Mommy," McKenzie said, drawing her attention.

"What, honey?"

"Can I have your nugget since you not eating it?"

Kate smiled. "Sure," she said, handing over her last chicken nugget. "I think Grandma's right, I think you must be having a little growth spurt, you're eating a little more than usual."

"Is that bad?" McKenzie asked.

"No, sweetie; it just means that you're growing and your body needs extra food right now to help you grow taller."

"How tall will I get?" her daughter asked.

"We won't know for sure until you're all grown up," Kate replied. "You might grow as tall as me and Daddy or you might grow to be the same height as Grandma or Grammy; they're a little shorter than me and Daddy; or you might end up somewhere in between but you've got a long way to go."

McKenzie nodded as she dipped her newly acquired nugget in her sauce. "Thank you for your nugget, Mommy."

"You're welcome."

"Do you want my last few fries to go with it?" Johanna asked her granddaughter.

"Yes, please."

Johanna slid her remaining fries over to her granddaughter. "There you go."

Kate smiled. "Grandma must love you a whole lot to give you her last few fries."

Her daughter nodded. "Her loves me lots."

"That's right, I do," Johanna said, pressing a kiss against her cheek.

"I love you lots, Grandma."

"I'm always happy to hear that."

A knock sounded at the door and Johanna glanced at her son-in-law. "And I'm sure Daddy is glad to hear that knock on the door."

"I didn't say a word," Castle remarked; "I got pushed out of the conversation."

"It's probably better that way for your sake," his mother-in-law stated as he headed for the door.

Castle blew out an exasperated breath as he opened the door and found Jim on the other side. "Thank God, take your wife home," he told the man.

Jim smirked at him. "What did you do that she told on you for?"

"Plenty," Kate announced.

Jim shook his head as he stepped inside. "You just don't learn do you?"

"Apparently not."

"Grandpa!" McKenzie exclaimed, climbing down from her chair and running toward him.

Jim sat down the bag he was carrying and swept her up in his arms. "There's my sweet pea; did you get your costume?"

"Uh huh, I got Cindaella!"

"That's perfect for you," he told her as he kissed her cheek. "You'll be a beautiful Cinderella. Did you and Grandma have fun?"

"No; Daddy was bad and made us stressed."

"Daddy?" he asked; "I thought Mommy was going."

"Mommy had to go to work."

"I see," Jim replied; "So Daddy tagged along and got in trouble?"

"Uh huh."

"I guess Mommy better put him on time out so he learns his lesson."

"I think so," McKenzie said; "Grandma talked to him but it didn't work."

"It's not often that a talk from Grandma doesn't work on someone," Jim declared. "Are you losing your touch, sweetheart?" he asked with a smile as he glanced at his wife.

"No; it comes down to the material I have to work with, and that," she said, flicking her wrist in Castle's direction; "Isn't material that's easily worked with. He led me into a false sense of security that it had worked and then resumed his asinine behavior."

"He never learns," Jim said once more.

"Grandpa; what's in that bag?" McKenzie asked, pointing at the shopping bag he had set down.

"Presents for my sweet pea," he answered with a smile. "Let's see what they are."

Jim sat McKenzie down and then stooped down and opened the bag, pulling out a pink box. "Here's this one," he told her as he handed it to her.

"It's a Halloween Barbie!" his granddaughter exclaimed, turning the box so they could see her Barbie who was dressed as a witch.

"Do you like it?" Jim asked; "It's not scary is it?"

"No, Barbie not scary," she answered. "I like her a lot, she's pretty."

"Good," he said with a smile as he reached into the bag and pulled out a smaller box. "Here's one of Barbie's little sisters, she's dressed for trick or treat."

"Another Halloween Barbie!" she exclaimed. "I like it!"

"I'm glad," he said, pulling another small box from the bag. "Here's one of the other sisters of Barbie; she's dressed for trick or treat too. This one is a present from Uncle Jeff and Aunt Maggie."

"Thank you, Grandpa!" McKenzie said happily.

"You're welcome," he told her; "Do I get a hug and a kiss?"

"Uh huh," she replied, giving him a kiss and a hug before hurrying to her mother's side with her new gifts. "Look, Mommy; Halloween Barbies!"

"Those are nice," Kate told her.

"They're pretty Halloween Barbies," McKenzie stated.

"Just what we need," Castle muttered; "More pretty, cutesy Halloween things."

Jim gave him an odd look. "Is there suddenly a problem with McKenzie having Barbie dolls?"

"No, not at all," his son-in-law replied.

"Rick's still mad that McKenzie doesn't like the scary, gory side of Halloween," Johanna commented.

Jim gave a short laugh. "Well of course she doesn't; she's a little girl. Boys like the gore and the scares. Little girls want the pretty costumes and a crown. It's just the way of nature."

"Yeah, well…"

"Don't say the 'A' word," Kate declared; "Because if you do; you will be alone tonight."

Jim glanced to Johanna. "Rick has a comparison problem," his wife explained. "I'll tell you more about it on the way home."

"I think I've filled in the blank but I can't wait to hear about your shopping experience."

"It kind of reminded me of bridesmaid shopping," Johanna replied; "Only instead of a crazy bride, there was a father losing his mind."

"Sounds like a horror story of its own," he remarked.

"You have no idea," Johanna sighed.

He smiled at her before shifting his attention to his daughter. "How are you feeling, Katie?"

"I'm fine…I can tell Mom is stressed though, she hasn't talked to the baby since I've gotten home," she laughed.

He chuckled quietly. "Yeah; that's a sure sign."

Kate reached for his hand and placed it against her stomach where the baby was kicking. Jim smiled. "He's awake."

"You don't know it's a boy, Dad."

Jim leaned down so he could be closer to her stomach. "Be a boy," he told the baby. "I'll get you a baseball bat and a glove."

"I want a baseball bat," McKenzie declared.

"You'll get one, honey; I put in a word with Santa Claus about it."

"Will he bring me a pretty one?"

"The prettiest he's got," Jim replied, kicks still landing against his palm. "Whatever it is, it's got a strong kick."

"That baby kicked me in the face," McKenzie stated as she climbed onto her grandmother's lap.

"It did?" Johanna asked.

"It did," Kate laughed. "She was cuddled up to me on the couch and the baby got her in the cheek."

"Must be taking after Daddy; kicking little girls when they're down," Johanna remarked.

"Be a nice boy," Jim amended as he patted the spot where his grandchild kicked.

"Let us hope that if it is a boy," Martha stated; "That he never tries to climb the walls like his father did."

"Let it go, Mother," Castle stated.

"Never," she stated.

"Boys will be boys, Martha," Jim told her with a smile.

"Yes; you should hear the horror stories of Jim's childhood," Johanna remarked; "I don't know how he and his brothers made it."

Martha nodded. "Let's start praying for another girl."

"I don't know if Rick could take the torment…she might want to be a princess too," Johanna said.

"Ha ha, Johanna," Castle said.

Johanna narrowed her eyes at him and then hugged her granddaughter tightly. "It's time for me to go home with Grandpa; I'll see you tomorrow when you come to my house, okay?"

"Okay, Grandma. You'll keep Scarlett in your room tonight?"

"Yes, baby; we'll keep Scarlett in our room and she'll be waiting on you in the morning."

"Don't you worry," Jim told her; "Everything will be fine."

"Oh, that reminds me, Katie; there were two things at the Halloween store that scared her; they were lifesize figures of a werewolf and Dracula…that your husband wanted to buy but I threatened to call you and make him walk. They were animated, so she might have some trouble tonight," Johanna said.

"Alright," Kate said; "Thanks for not letting him bring them home to terrorize our household further. He wouldn't have been pleased with the things I would've done in response."

Johanna smiled. "I can imagine."

"I'll be here tonight," Martha said as she caught Johanna's eye; "In case she needs someone upstairs."

She nodded. "Good, I'm sure that will make her feel better. How did she do last night, I didn't get to ask this morning."

"She did alright," Kate answered; "A garbage truck made a ton of noise at four this morning and startled her but I got her back to sleep once it got away from here."

Johanna gave her granddaughter another squeeze. "Keep your bravery stone on your nightstand while you're sleeping; it'll help you."

"And then put it in my pocket when I get up?" McKenzie asked.

"Yes; if you feel you need it, you carry it with you."

"What if I don't got no pockets?"

"Well…Johanna said.

"I know," Martha said; "I have one of those little velvet pouches with a drawstring that you get with jewelry sometimes. She can put her stone in the pouch and we can pin it to her waistband."

"Good idea," Johanna replied; "There, Grammy has fixed that problem for you, okay?"

"Okay."

She smiled. "Alright, hug and kiss time, I've got to go home and feed Scarlett."

"And me," Jim stated.

"And Grandpa."

McKenzie giggled as she hugged and kissed her grandmother and then hurried to her grandfather to repeat the same gestures. "See you tomorrow, sweet pea," Jim told her.

"Bye, Grandpa, bye, Grandma; see you morrow."

Johanna moved to Kate's side, her hand falling against the swell of her belly. "Goodnight, Mystery Baby; sorry we didn't talk more but your father drove me crazy. Take after your mommy; that drives him crazy…which means we'll be even."

"Mom," Kate laughed.

"Can you blame me?" her mother asked.

"No, not really," she admitted.

"That's what I thought," Johanna said as she kissed her forehead. "I love you, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Love you too," Kate replied.

Jim retook his place beside Kate and kissed her cheek. "See you tomorrow, Katie; I love you."

"I love you too, Dad; you drive home, Mom had a glass of wine….I'm sure she's fine, but you drive anyway."

Jim nodded. "Your husband drove her to drink, did he?"

"Yeah…and I'm sorry to both of you for that."

"It's alright," her father said with a laugh; "I'll drive home."

"I already told her you would," Johanna remarked before turning back to Martha. "See you next time, Martha; let me know what you find out about that showing."

"I will, dear; have a nice evening."

Jim said goodbye to Martha as well, following behind Johanna as she made her way to the closet door to collect her belongings. "You can rest easy now, Rick," he stated; "I'm taking my wife home."

"Yes; but you're leaving me here with the rest of them," Castle said, waving his hand at the table.

"Fine; I'll take all my girls. Katie; do you and McKenzie want to come home for the night?"

"I have to admit, it's tempting," Kate replied; "But I'll save that card for another time."

"Sorry, Rick; you're stuck," Jim told him with a smile.

"Isn't my mother-in-law going to tell me goodbye?" he asked.

Johanna shot him a glance. "Goodbye, Rick; try and remember what we discussed in the store…and what you said about not wanting to hurt certain people; because I certainly hope you meant that…"

"I do," he replied; suddenly feeling slightly chastened.

His mother-in-law stepped closer. "Then pull your head out of your ass and be the good, decent man we know you are."

"I'm trying."

"Try harder."

He smiled. "Have a safe trip home."

"We will," she replied as Jim opened the door for her. "I'll talk to you later, Katie."

"Alright, Mom," she called back before her parents stepped out of the loft, closing the door behind them.

Castle moved back toward the table under his wife's watchful gaze. "We're going to talk a lot more about this tonight after someone is sleeping," Kate told him; "Because what happened today is unacceptable."

He brushed a kiss against her cheek. "I'm counting the minutes to our special talk, dear."

"You can stop being a smartass anytime now, Rick," she retorted; her tone soft and yet full of warning.

"I guess I'm just not myself today," he admitted.

"Well don't worry, I'll reprogram you later," she told him.

"Sounds painful."

"If you're not careful, it could be," Kate remarked. "So I suggest you start cooling your heels."

He smiled as he nodded; things had spiraled out of control and now he was going to have to pay the price for it.

 _A/N: Kate's talk with Castle will be in the next chapter._


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's Note: Thanks for your reviews!_

 _Warning: Brief moments of strong language._

Chapter 8

As Kate put the Halloween themed clothes on hangers in McKenzie's room later that day, her daughter sat in her small rocking chair, giving her baby doll a bottle, telling her that she had missed her while she was out but that it was okay, she was home now. Kate couldn't help but smile, her daughter was apparently an acute studier of human interactions…and those interactions she liked and experienced, she applied to herself when carrying for a doll or stuffed animal.

"How's Gracie doing?" she asked her. "Is she taking her bottle?"

"Uh huh," McKenzie replied. "Gracie was hungry."

"You know, when our baby comes, it'll need bottles too," she told her.

"Can I feed our new baby?" McKenzie asked.

"I'll have to help you but you definitely can hold the bottle for the baby while it eats sometimes, would that be okay?"

"I could do it by myself," her daughter stated.

"You can't, sweetie; a real baby is heavier than your baby doll and you have to very careful of a baby's head and neck. If we're not careful when we hold it, it could hurt the baby and we don't want that."

"How do we hold it?"

Kate laid aside the small purple shirt that bore the image of Hello Kitty and moved to the chair where her daughter sat. "If I can see Gracie, I'll show you."

McKenzie sat down her plastic baby bottle and held the doll out to her mother. "You have to make sure the baby's head is always supported," Kate told her as she laid the baby doll on the bed and then carefully picked it up, her hand beneath its head as if it were a real newborn. Sometimes we'll hold the baby like you were holding Gracie; the baby's head is supported by our arm. Other times you'll see grown ups hold the baby like this," she said, putting the baby up against her shoulder, her hand cradling the back of the head, while her other hand cupped the baby's bottom. When you want to help feed the baby, I'll hold it and you can hold the bottle, it'll be easier that way because the baby will feel heavy to you and Mommy has to burp it after it eats so much."

"Why?" McKenzie asked as Kate demonstrated how to burp the baby.

"We do that so the baby doesn't get a bellyache," she explained.

"Oh; I better burp Gracie," McKenzie replied, her arms reaching for her doll.

"You should, she's ate a good bit," Kate replied, giving the doll back and watching as McKenzie softly patted the doll's back.

"Her burped!" the little girl exclaimed after a moment.

"Good, she won't get a bellyache later."

"Mommy?"

"What is it?" she asked as she went back to hanging up the purchases her mother had made.

"Will I ever get to hold the baby?"

"Of course you will, honey; but you'll have to let a grown up help you, okay? You'll have to sit still and me or daddy or Grandma, one of us will help you hold it so the baby's head is supported, because sometimes that can be tricky. You also have to be careful about the top of a baby's head," she explained, moving closer once more and pointing to a spot on the doll's head. "A baby has something called a soft spot and you can't ever push on it because it would hurt the baby. When the baby comes, I'll show you where not to touch the baby's head and you'll have to promise that you won't. We have to keep the baby safe, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy; I won't touch that spot, I promise. I don't want to hurt the baby."

"I know you don't, sweetheart; but I want you to know about it before the baby gets here, because if you didn't know, you might bump it on accident and I know you'd be really upset if the baby got hurt so I'm helping you get ready to be a big sister by telling you these things. You're my big girl and you're going to be a lot of help to me with the baby, aren't you?"

"I'll help a whole lot," her daughter stated.

"I knew I could count on you," Kate told her; "And when I go back to work; you can help Grandma with the baby too, okay?"

"I always help Grandma; she's says I'm her special helper."

"That's right, you are; and you're going to be a good big sister…but I need you to promise me one more thing."

"What?" McKenzie asked.

Kate met her eye. "Don't ever try to pick the baby up by yourself, okay? If the baby needs picked up or you just want to hold it, you tell me or Daddy or Grammy and we'll pick it up for you; if you're not here, you tell Grandma or Grandpa, okay?"

"Okay, I promise. I'll be a good girl."

"You're always a good girl, Baby; I'm not worried, I'm just helping you. Do you want to tell me which one of your new outfits you want to wear to Grandma's tomorrow?"

"My pretty purple skirt," McKenzie replied, pointing a small finger at it.

"Okay, and the black leggings with purple polka dots under it, right? Because otherwise your legs would be cold," Kate said, laying both items aside.

"Uh huh. Grandma says I can still wear those after Halloween."

"She's right, you can. Which shirt do you want to wear?"

Her daughter scrunched up her nose as she pondered the choices. "I think I want to wear my Minnie Mouse shirt."

Kate picked up the small black t-shirt that had Minnie Mouse holding a pumpkin shaped trick or treat bucket and the words 'Happy Halloween' spelled out in purple. "Good choice, Babe; this will match."

"And I'll wear my boots," McKenzie stated.

"My hearts swells with pride every time you say that," she laughed.

"Why?"

"Because Mommy loves boots and you love boots…Grandma loves boots…it's a girl thing in our family."

"I like it," McKenzie said. "Grandpa says I a little fasha-esta. I don't know what that is but I like it," she giggled.

Kate laughed. "I think you mean fashionista; it means you're cute and stylish. What else does Grandpa say?"

"When me and Grandma go to lunch date and see Grandpa, he says me and Grandma are his beautiful women."

"What about me?" Kate exclaimed.

"You not there, Mommy," McKenzie laughed, tossing her hands up in the air for emphasis.

"Well I guess you have a point there, smarty."

"Uncle Jeff says I little Sassy."

"I know," she chuckled. "He thinks you're just like Grandma."

"Daddy says that…but Daddy doesn't say it happy like Uncle Jeff."

Kate hung up the last article of clothing and sat down on the foot of the bed. "What do you mean? Can you tell me?"

"Uh huh; Uncle Jeff says Grandma Sassy and I Little Sassy and he laughs and has a happy face and tickles me. When Daddy says I just like Grandma; he's got his frowny face on…like him don't like it. He don't laugh. I don't think Daddy likes my Grandma…it makes me sad."

Kate reached out and grasped the arm of the small rocking chair and pulled her closer. "Daddy likes Grandma."

McKenzie shook her head. "I don't know bout that. He calls her names."

Her brow rose. "What does he call her? If it's bad words you can whisper them in my ear and you won't get in trouble this time."

"He calls her tattle tale and scaredy cat; and him give'd her a shirt that says 'Head Witch'…my Grandma not a witch. It made me sad."

Kate nodded. "It's not nice to call names…did Grandma call him names back?"

"No; her said she'd call him a doofus but that's not nice so she just says it in her head so his feelings don't get hurt."

She gave a soft laugh. "Grandma's good like that."

"I love my Grandma," McKenzie said seriously.

"I know you do; and I want you to love her as much as you can."

"Daddy didn't want her to buy me those pretty clothes."

"Well let me tell you something; no one tells Grandma how to spend her money but Grandpa; and Grandpa tells her to buy you all the presents she wants so Daddy needs to mind his business in that area. I'll talk to him about those names he called her and I'll let him know that it made you sad because you love her very much and we know that she's not those words. He forgot to mind his manners today, didn't he?"

"He was bad, Mommy."

"He was," Kate agreed.

"He made me mad and then I was bad…Grandma had to talk to me," McKenzie said, her gaze dipping slightly.

Kate bumped her chin up with her knuckle and gave her a smile. "I know…but you know what; sometimes when people make us mad, we do things we shouldn't because we feel so angry inside and we don't know what else to do because they're not listening to us. Grandma already told you that you can't throw yourself on the floor and scream…and she's right, you can't do that; but I'm not mad at you. I understand why you did that and I know that overall, you're a very good girl; but even good girls make mistakes sometimes and they need to be forgiven. So I forgive you for having a tantrum today; I know that if Daddy hadn't made you mad, that probably wouldn't have happened."

McKenzie stretched her arms out for a hug. "It all better now?"

"Yes, honey; it's all better," she told her as she hugged her.

"Why don't he like my Grandma?"

So they were back to that, were they? Kate thought to herself. "Kenzie, sometimes grownups just don't see eye to eye. Daddy and Grandma don't always agree with each other. Grandma is a strong, brave lady who isn't afraid to speak her mind and tell people what she thinks when it's something she feels strongly about; and by that I mean that it's something very important to her."

"Is that bad?" her daughter asked.

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "That's never bad. Girls should always speak their minds; they should always speak up if they feel something is wrong. That's why Grandma and I always tell you that if you don't like something, you can say so. If something scares you or makes you feel uncomfortable, you can say so. If something hurts you, you tell me or Daddy or Grandma or any grown up you know. Girls should always use their words…and Grandma is a big believer in using her words. Sometimes Daddy doesn't like what she says…because it's usually something he doesn't want to hear. Daddy's stubborn and sometimes he doesn't know when to stop being that way. Grandma's stubborn too…and when she thinks Daddy is wrong, she tells him…but it doesn't mean that they don't like each other."

"I know Grandma likes Daddy."

"You do?"

"Uh huh; we watch him when he's on TV and we clap for him," McKenzie stated; "And she got all his books. We went to the store Daddy was at once to surprise him; Grandma said he needed cheering up cause someone was mean about his book and we had to make him feel better and show all those people that we 'port him."

"Support," Kate corrected; "But I remember that and it was a nice thing for Grandma to do; and I'm glad she makes sure that you see Daddy on TV when he's on shows talking about his books."

"Grandma says I lucky because my Daddy writes stories and that's special because not all little girls have daddies that can make up so many good stories."

"That's true," she replied. "You are lucky to have a daddy like that and Grandma does like your Daddy…when he's not calling her names."

"That's not nice," McKenzie stated; "It prolly hurts her feelings."

"It probably does."

"I don't think he likes my Grandma."

"What could he do to show you that he does?"

"He has to be nice," McKenzie declared; "And not give her his mean face and not call her names."

"Okay; I'll tell him that. But you know what, even though there are times when Daddy gets a little miffed at Grandma, it doesn't change anything. We're all still family and they both love you."

"I know."

"Are you sad about anything else?" she asked.

McKenzie nodded. "Daddy don't like princesses."

"Daddy likes princesses," Kate replied.

"I don't think so, Mommy."

Kate smiled, her daughter did have a healthy dose of Johanna Beckett in her. "He does."

"Nope," McKenzie said, shaking her head. "Daddy says I can't be a princess all the time for Halloween."

She sighed softly. "Daddy is just hoping that you'll want to be something different sometime."

"Why?"

"Because he wants you to have fun."

"I have fun as a princess."

Kate gave her a smile. "Tell me what you like about princesses? What makes them fun?"

"They get to wear princess crowns…'aras; they called 'aras…and they wear pretty dresses. Princesses are nice; they're not mean. They're pretty and nice to animals; animals like princesses. They go to balls and meet princes and they have friends. They live in castles…and my last name is Castle!"

"It is," Kate said with a laugh. "What else do you like about princesses?"

"When people are mean to the princesses, they stay nice and the princesses goes away from the mean people and she lives happy ever after and no one is mean to her anymore."

She nodded. "A princess has to be really brave to stand up to those people who are mean…and to leave them behind and go have a new, happy life."

"Princesses are brave," McKenzie stated; "Like you, Mommy."

"Why do you think I'm brave?"

"Cause, Grandma told me so…her said you brave and do 'portant work. You gots a badge and that makes you a De…detec…"

"Detective," Kate supplied. "But you know that a Detective is part of the police, right?"

"Yes; but you a better police than other police cause you a detect...ive…detective; is that right?"

"Yes, you're getting the hang of the word but all police are important; Being a detective means that Mommy has a higher rank; which might be a little hard for you to understand, but all police work together; we're a team."

Her daughter nodded. "But you 'portant…you keep everyone safe."

"Not all by myself."

"Uncle Kevin and Uncle Javi help you."

"That's right; and Captain Gates and a lot of other police officers. It's a big job; even Daddy helps me, you know that too."

"I know; but he don't got a badge like you, Mommy. You got a shiny badge."

"That's true."

"You brave."

Kate nodded. "We all have to be brave sometimes."

McKenzie's bottom lip poked out. "Does that mean I gotta be scary for Halloween?"

Her eyes widened. "No, baby; of course not. I just meant that sometimes everyone has to be brave but that doesn't mean that you don't get scared. It's okay that you don't like scary stuff right now…and if you never like it, that's okay too. I promise; no one is going to make you scary for Halloween."

"Lexis likes scaries," her daughter said, her small hand toying with the foot of her baby doll.

"Yeah; but Alexis is a lot older than you. She's all grown up."

"She likes scaries with Daddy."

"Yeah," Kate said slowly; "But she likes the things she does with you too."

"Daddy likes Lexis best cause her likes scaries," McKenzie stated.

She shook her head. "No; no, sweetheart; that's not true. Daddy loves you and Alexis the same."

"Daddy don't get mad at Lexis."

"Daddy's not mad at you."

"He was mad at the store; him said 'you not being a princess all the time, McKenzie. You need to be different'. He wanted me to be a Mummy like Lexis or Leia like Lexis was."

Her heart broke a little and she reached for McKenzie, pulling her out of her small chair and onto her lap the best she could with her baby bump in the way. "McKenzie, your daddy loves you so very much. He's loved you from the moment he knew you were growing in my belly; you're his little jellybean. He loves you just as much as he loves Alexis; he's going to love you both forever. Daddy just wants you both to like everything he likes but that isn't how things work; you don't have to like what he likes and neither does Alexis; that's why she doesn't like his yucky smorelett."

"That's gross," McKenzie said, her nose wrinkling in distaste.

"It is," she agreed; "But Daddy loves you both the same…and Alexis loves you a lot too and I know she'd feel sad if you thought that Daddy liked her more; she wouldn't want that."

"Lexis don't want Daddy to like her best?"

"No; she wants him to like you both just the same."

"Lexis should tell him," McKenzie stated.

"Oh don't you worry, sweetie; Mommy is going to have a very long talk with Daddy about his behavior today; but I just want you to know that your sister loves you a whole lot and she doesn't want you to think that she doesn't or that Daddy loves her best because it's not true."

"Would Lexis save me from monsters?"

Kate nodded. "I know without a doubt that Alexis would save you from monsters; everyone who loves you will keep you safe…but you really don't need to worry about monsters because they're not real."

"There was a scary werewolf at the store."

"I know, Grandma told me…and she kept you safe, didn't she?"

"Uh huh; she let me punch his nose."

Kate laughed softly. "Did she?"

"Yep; and he made his howl noise and it was scary."

"He was just a big decoration that had a box hidden inside that makes the noise when it's touched."

"Promise, Mommy?"

"I promise, sweetie."

"Daddy wanted to bring it home and Grandma said no!"

Kate nodded. "I'm so glad Grandma was there…because if he had bought that; I would've made him take it back; so it's good that Grandma stopped him."

"She didn't let him buy the vampire either."

"Grandma did a good job; she kept Daddy from buying those decorations we don't want and she got you your pretty Cinderella dress and your treat bucket…"

"And my 'ara' and my gloves," McKenzie stated.

"That's right; you're going to be the best Cinderella."

"Miss Chelsea was nice; her helped me try on 'aras'."

"Grandma teaches her at the school Alexis goes to," Kate replied.

"Does Grandma teach Lexis?"

"No," she answered; thinking about how back when she and Castle had been engaged and Alexis had gone through her small rebellion, she had talked about taking a few law classes...more specifically the ones taught by her confidant at the time, Johanna Beckett. That hadn't happened though, not after Castle had his fit about their friendship in a moment of insane jealousy. She couldn't help but think it was somewhat sad that when her step-daughter did take a law class, she made sure to choose one taught by another professor…one that took place on days when Johanna wasn't on campus.

Kate sighed; her husband sure did have a way of throwing a wrench into things when it came to women.

"What's wrong, Mommy?" McKenzie asked.

"Nothing, baby; just thinking about what all Daddy has done today."

"He needs a time out."

"He does," Kate agreed; "I'll put him on one later. Do you remember that tonight you have to try to sleep here in your room by yourself again?"

"I 'member," she replied.

Kate hugged her tighter, hearing the touch of nerves in her tone. "It'll be okay; you'll have your nightlight on and you can come get me if you get scared or have a bad dream. Grammy will be across the hall in her room too if you need her, okay?"

"Okay…is it bedtime already?"

"No; not yet…you still have awhile to play before your bath. Do you want to bring your baby downstairs and play or are you going to stay up here?"

McKenzie thought about it for a moment. "We'll come downstairs with you, Mommy; but I got to get her diaper bag and her carrier."

Kate nodded. "It's very important to have a baby's diaper bag and carrier."

"Uh huh; Grandma said our new baby will have a carrier and it'll be in the backseat with me," McKenzie stated as she scooted off her mother's lap and went to the corner of the room and picked up the baby doll carrier Johanna had given her as one of her birthday gifts.

"That's right; our new baby will had a carrier as its carseat and it'll ride in the back with you and you can keep an eye on the baby while I'm driving; that will be a big help to me."

"I can do that, Mommy!" McKenzie exclaimed, happy to know that she'd be of help as she carefully put her doll in the carrier and tucked the doll's blanket around her.

"Did Grandma teach you that?"

"Uh huh; babies get cold; they need to have their blankie."

Kate smiled, watching as McKenzie found her small diaper bag and put the doll sized diapers in it along with bottles and the pacifier. She was doing her best to keep McKenzie involved and excited about the impending arrival of her sibling; allowing her to pick out some gender neutral sleepers and little rattles that would be her present to the baby. She was glad to see that her mother was also helping by teaching her little things about babies; which would hopefully keep any jealously to a minimum and sway her more toward being a little mother hen that wanted to love up on her sibling.

"Me and Gracie are ready to go downstairs now," McKenzie declared; the strap of the diaper bag over her shoulder and the handle of the carrier in her hand.

"You're such a good mommy to Gracie," Kate told her as she rose from the bed.

"Grandma says that too; I glad I have baby stuff at Grandma's for Gracie; Grandpa said he will tell Santa to bring me a stroller for my baby."

"You have a stroller," Kate said as they made their way down the hall to the stairs.

"I could keep it at Grandma's," her daughter replied. "I don't gotta stroller there; but I got a carrier and a high chair and a cradle."

"Oh, I see; Grandpa's going to tell Santa that he needs to complete your set at their house."

"Uh huh. Is Santa coming soon? I like when Santa comes."

Kate laughed. "I bet you do; you get a mountain of presents from everyone who loves you; but you have awhile to wait for Santa. We have to have Halloween, and then Mommy's birthday, and then Thanksgiving and then a few weeks later Santa will come for Christmas."

"It's gonna take forever for Santa to come."

"It'll be here before you know it," she told her. "You just wait and see."

* * *

"Is McKenzie asleep?" Castle asked; looking up from his laptop as Kate stepped into his office that evening.

"She's asleep," she answered, crossing her arms over her chest.

Her husband sighed. "Then I guess it's time."

"Time for what?"

"For you to yell at me."

Kate smirked as she nodded. "Yeah; I have had this ball of anger slowly gliding up my throat all evening and I feel like the time has come so let's get right to it. What the hell were you thinking today?" she asked sharply.

Castle closed the lid of his laptop. "I just wanted to give her other options…something different for a change; something more in tune with the season. I thought if she saw the costumes, it might spark an interest. I never thought it would lead to a tantrum."

"She didn't need you to give her options! She made her choice and you should've respected it! You should've been a grown man with half a damn brain and said to yourself "My daughter is three; do I really need to hassle her about a fucking costume she's going to wear for a few hours on one night?" But no, you couldn't act like a grown man because apparently that's too much of a stretch for you this week. No; instead you had to invite yourself along on the shopping trip. You had to bully our three year old because she doesn't conform to your Halloween standards. You had to act like an ass even after my mother spoke to you about the incident and then you topped it off by being rude to my mother in our home. What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Frustration flickered in his veins, his jaw tightening slightly. "I guess I don't have a good answer for that."

"Yeah," Kate shot back; "I didn't think you would. I can't believe you! All of this over a stupid holiday! Do you know the damage you're doing?"

"I just wanted her to like it like I do."

"Well she doesn't," she retorted; "And bullying her isn't going to make her do it your way; all it's going to do is make her hate it because she's going to associate Halloween with her father being a jackass!"

He sighed. "I do realize that in hindsight."

"Do you; or are you just trying to save your ass? Because I have to tell you; I'm fed up with you pressuring her over this crap. I thought last night when you did the monster check for her that maybe you were pulling your head out of your ass and taking her seriously but clearly it's still rammed up there as far as it'll go."

"No; I do realize that trying to push her about the costume is only going to make her hate Halloween even more; so believe me, I know I spited myself today. But maybe she is doing a little better; she didn't ask me to check for monsters tonight."

"No; she asked me," Kate remarked; "And I did check and gave her the all clear. But instead of thinking about how you 'spited yourself'; why don't you start thinking about the real damage you're doing to your daughter. Because when we were upstairs together earlier this evening, she told me that Daddy likes Alexis better than her because Alexis likes scary things and she doesn't."

"That's not true!"

"I know it's not; but she doesn't. It's how you're making her feel. Alexis is better because she likes your version of Halloween. She even told me how you were trying to get her to be things that Alexis was for Halloween when she was little."

"I thought it might sway her into giving something else a chance," Castle replied. "She loves Alexis; I thought she'd want to dress up as something her sister liked."

"No; all you accomplished was making her feel like she doesn't measure up to her sister. She does love Alexis…but if she's already starting to feel like you love Alexis more; then eventually she's going to start to resent her and they're not going to have a relationship…just like you'll be obliterating your own relationship with her."

He shook his head. "That's not going to happen. A few costume suggestions isn't going to hurt their bond."

Kate's eyes snapped with anger. "Really; you think it's all just costumes; the Halloween angle is just what she's picking up right now…eventually she's going to pick up on the rest of the comparisons. She's going to know that you measure her by Alexis and she comes up short. Just like how you compare my way of parenting to how you parented Alexis. You think your way is the only way and it isn't; and when you do your little comparisons, it makes me feel like McKenzie and I come up short against you and Alexis…and all of this talk about how perfect you think your first child is compared to your second, honestly makes me feel a little resentful of Alexis and that isn't fair to her because she's not the one doing these things but it's how I'm starting to feel because I love my daughter and she's not second best in my mind. I don't want to feel that resentment, Rick. I love Alexis; I feel like we have a good relationship but you're going to inadvertently change that. In the long run, you'll also change McKenzie's relationship with her. You'll end up making her resent her sister."

"I'm not going to make her resent her sister by telling her things that her sister liked!"

Kate's eyes flashed with anger. "No; you don't tell McKenzie the things her sister liked; you imply to her that the way Alexis liked things is the right way and the way you approve of and that her likes and opinions are wrong. You don't get to do that. This comparison bullshit ends today. I am sick and tired of it, Rick. For three and a half years all I've heard is how Alexis did this faster, Alexis did it this way, Alexis liked it like this, and so on and so forth until I could rip my hair out. You think you raised the perfect child all on your own and the one you raise with me just isn't measuring up and it's somehow my fault or my mother's because it isn't yours, no; because you think you have all the answers and already achieved perfection. Well let me tell you something, Mr. Castle; it ends today; I don't give a damn what Alexis did, when she did it, how she did it or anything else when it's a statement made in comparison to my child. If I don't specifically ask you, I don't want to hear it…because I. Don't. Care. She's not my kid; McKenzie is and she will grow, learn and be her own person and not a goddamn clone of your perfect first child."

"Wow," Castle said; leaning back in his chair. "I didn't realize you had such a problem with my daughter. You're reminding me a little of Gina right now."

Kate smirked at him. "Yeah; well let me tell you something; Gina and I've had a few discussions you don't know about and one of those discussions was about Alexis and how she wanted to be a mother to her and you wouldn't allow her in; you kept her shoved to the sidelines, you didn't want her to have a role in your daughter's life and any time it seemed like she might be getting in, you'd get jealous…just like when you couldn't let her give Alexis the doll she bought her for Christmas; no, it had to be the doll you bought. Just like you got pissed about the concert tickets that she provided before you had a chance. You want it all your way…well guess what, this isn't Burger King and you don't get it your way all the time! Meredith handed Alexis over without any qualms; Gina didn't have a leg to stand on in her position as step-mother…but McKenzie is my child and I'm not stepping away, I'm not letting you have full control. You will not compare her to her sister, you won't bully her, you will accept her for who she is. I mean it, Rick; I am so over this bullshit of you comparing your children and acting like you're the only one with the answer, you're mister perfect parent. Well here's a newsflash for you, you aren't. No parent is perfect and that includes you! We have another baby coming into our home in January and I'm telling you right now; I am not going through another round of comparisons concerning how this child measures up to Alexis and listening to you imply that you can do everything better. I won't stand for it."

"So; is that you confessing that you do have a problem with my daughter?" Castle asked; "Because you didn't respond to that part of my statement."

"I can not believe you!" she yelled. "I'm standing here telling you that I'm not going to tolerate this comparison behavior for anyone in this house anymore and all you can say to me is 'are you confessing you have a problem with my daughter?'. No, jackass; I don't have a problem with your daughter; I have a problem with you! Do you listen at all? I told you, I love Alexis; but it's your behavior that's going to drive a wedge in mine and McKenzie's relationships with her. You, Castle; it needs to stop!"

He took a deep breath. "I know…I didn't realize how much of a comparison problem I had; and it isn't fair to any of you. I need to stop comparing them; I know that and I'm going to try to do better."

"Don't just try; just do it!"

"I will, I promise."

"You better," she told him, her hands trembling with anger; "And if I hear one more word about how your way of Halloween is better; then McKenzie and I will leave and you can have it your way alone…I'm already tempted to take her and go stay somewhere else until this is over because I can't take much more of your whining about it; and seeing my baby upset about it bothers me more than you can imagine."

"There's no need for that," he said, his tone rising as he sat forward in his chair.

"Then I suggest you heed my words as a warning, Castle; because if it's in her best interest for us to go for a few days, we will. Her relationship with Alexis isn't the only one you're hurting. You're hurting your relationship with McKenzie. She's already thinking she's second best. You're making her feel badly about what she likes and doesn't like. She worries that you're mad at her because she doesn't like scary things. You bullied her in the store today; you argued with her every step of the way about everything concerning her costume…and you had to know going in with your little plot that it was going to end badly; didn't you?"

"Honestly; I didn't think about it going badly…I just…"

"You just thought she'd magically come around to your way of thinking, shun princesses and be ready to watch horror movies with you, right?"

"No," he said slowly. "I just thought maybe a different costume would impress her…but she was set on Cinderella and threw it in my face that Johanna would get it for her no matter what I said."

"You're damn right my mother would've bought it anyway; even if she had to go back alone to do it, she would've made it happen."

"Yes, I know; and it would've added a hashmark to her heroine tally; cementing herself as Queen of Grandmothers."

"We're going to get back to the topic of my mother in a minute," Kate remarked; "But first, I want to know why this thing with Halloween has been such a big deal that you'd go to these lengths. I want to know what this business is with 'there's not room for me with all the girl stuff' because to me, that just sounds like an excuse for you to find someone else to blame for what your problem is. I want it settled, so let's have it, right now."

"She doesn't like anything I like," Castle stated.

"That's not true," Kate replied.

"It is. She doesn't like Halloween…"

"That's not entirely true," she sighed. "She likes getting to put on a costume and go trick or treating. She likes pumpkin carving; she's not against _all_ of the decorations."

"Yeah; but she doesn't like the best parts, the spooks, the scares."

"So what? She doesn't have to like that stuff...but you need to keep in mind that she's still very little and that might change one day. She might love it when she's older, give her time."

"And what if she doesn't love it when she's older?"

"Then you accept that and respect her wishes. She may always like the cutesy, fun variety of Halloween over the spooky side, but that's fine. We don't know how it'll turn out in the long run; but for this year, it won't kill you to do it her way."

"I'm pretty sure she likes your cooking better than mine…and I'm excellent cook."

Kate gave him a look of offense. "Oh and I'm not?"

"You are a wonderful cook…it's just like she thinks everything is better when Mommy makes it."

"I don't know; I hear an awful lot about smiley face pancakes," Kate retorted.

"She doesn't even like cheeseburgers," Castle stated, brushing off the comment; "Just like your mother doesn't care much for hamburgers."

"My mother eats a burger once in awhile…no there's not cheese on it; and no it's not something she wants to eat all the time but she's not alone in not being a huge fan of them."

"Of course not; she's got McKenzie with her. Before that she was the only person in the world who wasn't a fan."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Oh my God; what is with you and always wanting to blame my mother? It's like some kind of sickness for you and you need to cure it."

"It's not like that…it's just that she's like a mini Johanna Beckett…I think it comes from giving her her maiden name…and I think one Johanna per family is plenty."

"Wow, really?" Kate said. "Is this the truth leaking out? Do you resent our daughter because she takes after my side of the family?"

"No, of course not!"

"I'm not so sure about that," she stated; "As for her name; you liked the name when I asked about it, you said you approved of it."

"I did…but with her already being so much like her, I wonder if perhaps we should've gone with my choice."

Kate's brow arched. "I've got news for you; I was never going to name my child Serenity after some ship on some lame sci-fi show that you admire."

"You're calling the show I like lame!?" he exclaimed; "You, the Nebula-9 fan? Let me guess, if it wasn't McKenzie; you would've gone for Chloe?"

"God no," she retorted; "But it sure as hell wasn't going to be Serenity just like I'll never have a child named Cosmo either."

"Why not!?"

"Because I'm not using a name you picked out with your ex-wife…not to mention the fact that it's stupid. Who picked Alexis's name?"

"Meredith chose Alexis," he stated; "I picked her middle name; and Cosmo is not a stupid name."

"Well maybe your next wife will use it," Kate remarked; "But I'm not. I'm not going to have my child in the press as another victim of weird names a famous person gives their kid…like Apple and Coco…and by now someone has probably named their kid Lima Bean; no, no, no. If you want a kid named Cosmo; you better start looking for wife number four."

Castle sighed. "Weren't we talking about your mother?"

"Yeah; you were confirming that you don't like her just as she's claimed for years."

"I did not confirm it!"

"Oh I think you have…even McKenzie has picked up on it."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"When I was hanging up her new clothes, she asked me why Daddy doesn't like her grandma. She's very upset about the way today went, Castle; and not just the way things went down between you and her…she's upset about you calling her grandmother a "scaredy cat", "tattle tale" and "Head Witch". It hurts her to hear and see that; she loves her grandmother with all of her heart and she feels like you treat her badly and don't like her and that bothers her."

Castle rubbed his temples. "I do not treat Johanna badly…but she is a tattle tale and sometimes I do believe she is the head witch."

Anger flashed on his wife's face. "Well then I guess that makes me the head witch's daughter…but what you don't know is that I climbed the ranks and surpassed her…I'm the head bitch and you just flipped my switch."

Castle shook his head. "Please, flip it back; I didn't mean it, I'm pleading insanity."

"I think you must be insane," Kate retorted; "You keep acting like an ass over Halloween; you want to blame my mother; I tell you that your daughter is picking up on your behavior toward my mother and all you can say is that in your opinion she is the things mentioned. Your first inclination should've been to say 'what can I do to show our daughter that what she thinks isn't true, that I respect her grandmother and her place in our family' but no; you're too busy being a big whiny ass over a stupid holiday. It's time for you to grow up, Rick."

"It's not just Halloween," he retorted.

"Then what the hell is it?"

"I don't have a place with her," he remarked. "McKenzie only wants you all the time, and when it isn't you, it's your mother; and when it isn't Johanna, it's my mother. You and her have your Mommy and Me days; your special girl time. She only wants you helping her with her bath; she wants you to tuck her in, she only wants you to play Barbies with her. She's with Johanna at least three days a week; which that's necessary because I'm at work with you or doing my own work…but they have their special things, shopping trips, cookie baking, tea parties, Barbie doll playtime. Mother takes her on an ice cream date once a week; they go see movies…both of her grandmothers take her out once a month for a day of spoiling. There's not much room left for me."

"Okay, first of all, I'm her mother; she's supposed to want me. Second, she's a little girl, little girls follow their mommies. I followed mine constantly…"

"Sometimes you still do," he muttered.

"Castle; I swear to God I'm going to punch you before the night is over."

"Sorry, go on."

"McKenzie doesn't do anything that I didn't do at her age. I clung to my mommy too but it didn't mean I loved my Dad any less. I adored him; I still do. I couldn't wait until he came home from work. It's natural for a little girl to want to be with her mommy all the time; it doesn't mean McKenzie loves you less. As for my mother, of course they have their special things; grandmothers and granddaughters are supposed to have their own little bond. I'm glad they're close; I'm glad they love each other to pieces…because they almost didn't have each other, Rick. If Bracken had truly had his way, she wouldn't know her grandmother's love or her voice, her hugs, her way of doing things. If he had had his way, she might've never been born, because he wanted me gone too. So you should thank God that your child wasn't robbed of her grandmother."

"Of course I'm thankful for that; for everyone's sake."

She ignored him and carried on with her remarks. "As for your mother, again, they're supposed to have their own bond. They love each other to pieces too and I'm glad…I'm also glad that both of her grandmothers get together once a month and take her out to do something special; it shows McKenzie that both of her grandmothers love her and that they respect each other's place in her life. I also want her to have a nice bond with Alexis; they're sisters but there's a big age gap and it makes it a little difficult but Alexis does what she can to make things special between them. What do you want everyone to do, Rick? Are we supposed to do nothing with her so you can do everything and feel important? Because that's how it comes off at times; you want to do it all and the rest of us are supposed to stay out of the way like Meredith did with Alexis…well that's not going to happen this time around. McKenzie's mother is here and she's going to continue to do what she always does. McKenzie's grandmothers would take you out in the woods, cover you in honey and dump you in front of a bear cave before they stepped aside and gave up their special time with her…so I say you crawl out of your head…or better yet, pull you head out of your ass and get a good clear look at reality."

"Easy for you to say; you're the parent she prefers."

"At the moment I can see why," Kate retorted. "She does plenty of things with you; you take her to the park, the zoo; you took her to the dinosaur exhibit at the museum. We took her to the aquarium and it was you she was giggling with over fish and sting rays. She likes when you do silly voices when reading her stories, when you make smiley face pancakes. She likes when the two of you go to Remy's…she's going to love decorating for Christmas with you. She likes playing Go Fish with you; she could do that all day. She likes when you play those little kid video games with her and let her win. No, she doesn't ask you to play Barbies with her anymore…because you wouldn't play Barbies the way she wanted to play; you wanted to turn them into bit players for your plotlines and she's got her own storylines for her dolls. She didn't like how you played Barbies but she likes how we girls play Barbies so of course we are the ones she asks to play Barbies. She does occasionally ask you to babysit one of her baby dolls so you should take that as a sign of her trust."

"It just seems like she enjoys everything more with everyone else," Castle complained.

"I wouldn't say that…but like the Barbie thing; you tend to become a demanding kid yourself when it's playtime. You want to play your way most of the time and she wants to play hers…and instead of having time for each, you tend to push your ideas and McKenzie is stubborn, if it's not something she wants, she's not going to do it…although she might give it a try if her way got done as well. But the real problem here is that you don't want to share…you want to do it all like you did with Alexis; but like I said before; it's not going to be that way and you need to accept it."

"It's not like that."

"It is! And you need to really start thinking about what you're doing before you end up ruining things between you and McKenzie to the point that it can't be repaired. I still hear the hurt in my mother's voice when she speaks of her father and their relationship. I don't want McKenzie feeling that pain. I know you love her…but you're going to drive a wedge between you. Accept her for who she is; yeah, she takes after me and my mother…looks like us too…but that's okay; it's okay for one of your children to take after their mother's side of the family. All of your children don't have to be a clone of you."

"I'm aware of that," Castle remarked.

"Then start acting like you know it. Accept your child for who she is, respect her wishes and feelings; be the loving daddy she knows you are and stop upsetting her about Halloween. Also, you need to stop calling her grandmother names and show her that you respect her grandmother and have no issue with her. You also need to let her know that you're not against princesses because I think she takes that personally and maybe feels like you don't like that part of her. You really have to get a grip and get your head out of your ass before we bring this next baby home."

"I'll do better, Kate. I guess I just didn't think it would this hard this time around."

"Well now you know, plan, think and act accordingly. Not everything is about you."

"Are we done?" Castle asked; "Because I already got a lecture from your mother today…and I just realized that you get your lecture genes from her and I think I'm all lectured out."

"Oh I'm almost done," Kate replied, her jaw tight. "Don't you ever treat my mother rudely when she's in our home again. All the work you did to make her feel comfortable being in our home and then you tell her to leave; you tell my father to take her home as soon as you open the door; and don't even try to say it was a joke because it wasn't. I would never treat Martha that way, and you damn sure better not treat my mother that way again, or me and my children will walk out the door with her until you relearn your manners. Do I make myself clear?"

"Very clear," he replied. "I didn't realize that I was making so many comparisons until you mentioned it…and your mother mentioned it…and then you again; and I know it's not something that should be happening so frequently. I don't want to hurt you, Kate. I love you; I never want to make you feel like you're somehow inferior because that couldn't be further from the truth. I don't want McKenzie to feel like second best; I don't want either one of you to lose your relationship with Alexis just because of me and the things I say and do. I don't want McKenzie and I to have a relationship like your mother and grandfather had. I'm sorry; I'm going to do better."

"And what about McKenzie?" she asked.

"I mentioned her in the statement," he said slowly.

"Yes; I know…but what I want to know is, are you going to give her a more sincere apology for what happened today? Because I feel like you owe her one…and you need to talk to her about your behavior toward my mother and I think you owe her an apology as well. She took McKenzie to get her costume as a favor to me so she wouldn't be upset all day about not going…she probably expected this to be a quick easy trip that would be fun for them and instead you turned it into a nightmare for both of them. I'm sure she was probably embarrassed to have you provoke your daughter into a tantrum and then have to discipline both of you and put up with your remarks here. You were in the wrong today…and you know what, I'm still a little miffed that you didn't leave a message saying you got home safely just because you had to seize the opportunity to ruin our daughter's day."

"I'm sorry I didn't leave you a message…but like I said; you didn't leave me one either to see where I was."

"I couldn't while I was working…I did call on my way to McDonalds but it went to voicemail. I called Alexis; you got home very soon after I had left."

"I'm sorry; I did notice that my phone was on silent while you gave McKenzie her bath. I guess it got bumped somehow."

"I can forgive that easily," Kate told him; "But when you hurt my baby; that I don't forgive easily. Be better, Rick; quit letting this holiday turn you into an ass because it's really upsetting for all of us when you're not the man we're accustomed to you being."

He nodded, knowing she was right…that Johanna was right too and he hated that. "I'll get my head straightened out, I promise."

"Good; I'm going to get a shower; listen for McKenzie in case she'd get up."

"I will," he promised. "I'll take care of everything."

"You better," she said; her tone full of warning; "Because if we have to have this conversation again, especially in regard to making your daughter feel like second best or pressuring her to be something she doesn't want to be in any way; you won't like the consequences…I mean it; I won't have her in that situation with her father all the time. So fix what your problem is; because she's not the one who needs to make changes; you are!"

"I know," Castle said quietly. "I promise; I'm going to back off the Halloween issues and the comparison stuff. I'll fix things."

"And you're going to apologize to McKenzie and to my mother, right?" Kate said as she moved toward the doorway of the bedroom.

"Yes…but I think we should get me some kind of card that gets a punch in it every time I have to apologize to your mother…maybe I could win a free pizza when it's filled up or something."

Kate rolled her eyes. "I'm still pissed at you so your attempt at humor is lost on me at this moment. Listen for McKenzie."

"I will; go on and get your shower," he told her, figuring that he had a lot to think about as he finished the chapter he was working on.

Kate turned and walked away, hoping that she had gotten through to him and that he'd change his ways before it caused a rift between the whole family.


	9. Chapter 9

EDIT: The final chapter is being posted right after this; I had deleted it but realized it would keep logged in accounts from reviewing the final chapter; so I'm putting it back in place for now and the final chapter will be up in a few minutes as chapter 10.

Author's Note

I've been debating this decision for over a week now; I've even discussed it with a few people but I have decided that I'm not going to finish Un-Scared.

Some of you know why I've made this decision; for those of you who don't, I'll explain. I'm just tired of hate. I know it sounds stupid, but it is what it is. I'm tired of having to explain my plotline. I'm tired of explaining human nature and how different situations can make people react differently. I'm tired of explaining that people and characters have more than one side to their personality. I'm tired of people who don't like something but continue to read it just so they can browbeat the writer with their two cents every chapter. It gets old. It gets discouraging. It gets annoying.

We don't know every single thing about these characters; we've never seen Castle co-parent a child; we've only seen him as a single parent. I feel that there's a good possibility that he'd struggle with suddenly having to share the duties and decisions…not to mention how he'd feel to have a child that isn't a daddy's girl, but a mommy's girl instead. Parenthood is different for him the second time around; this child takes after her mother's family and doesn't like everything he likes unlike Alexis and I believe that just like in real life situations, that could cause friction and lead to him pushing too much; because as we've seen on the show, he doesn't always respect boundaries, he's a pusher by nature; he pushes buttons, he pushes his limits ect. Marriage and parenthood isn't all rainbows and skittles. I can't write constant fluff balls, because a constant perfect fluffy life doesn't exist, nor do perfect parents and perfect spouses and perfect children.

This was just supposed to be a bit of fun for me for Halloween; it's the third year I've participated in the Halloween Bash; and originally this was going to be my entry last year before I changed my mind and with a different idea. I wish I had ignored the urge this year. If I participate next year, I will be sure to make it's a story that can sit inside my Reflections universe or a Johanna centric addition to the Redemption verse.

No matter how I write Castle in this fandom, I get bitched at for it. If I make him loving and supportive, I'm told that I make him a wimp. If I make him face consequences for actions, I'm just harsh and a man hater. If I make him act like a human, he's a monster. So this time, I give up…and I don't care what it makes me. I've got enough real life bullshit dragging me down right now that I really don't need more from my hobby.

So to my readers who enjoyed this story and wanted to see it through to the end, I'm sorry. I had a nice ending planned but I just can't push through it this time and I hope you can understand that. I'll be returning to Reflections, Redemption and The Visitors; I've already started working on things for Reflections so hopefully I'll have an update for that sometime soon. Again, I'm sorry, I appreciate your reviews, your kindness, your encouragement extended in private messages; which in all honesty is the only reason I gave it one more try with chapter eight.

To the reviewers who 'don't want the advice to quit reading if you don't like it'…well guess what, you're getting that advice anyway. Just stop if you don't like something; seriously, when any author posts something on this site, they're not forcing you to read it…nor are you paying for the product that they've put their time and effort into. It's a hobby, not our job. If you keep reading something that you hate and spend your time complaining about it chapter after chapter, then you're only doing it because you get off on the fact that you're tearing someone down. I've read plenty of stories in this fandom that I didn't like or didn't finish reading; I just didn't feel a need to tell the writer about it on every single chapter; because it's their story, their vision and I have no right to tell them that the story they want to share is wrong. It's not wrong to them, it's just not right for me; but at least I respect them enough to just go quietly.

So, to the people who hate this story and yet keep coming back for every update; you win this time. I just have too much going on in real life to keep at it just to spite you, so you win. It's not something I say with pride; but it does feel like the right decision at this time. I hope you bask in your victory as you sit there behind your mask as 'guest reviewer' because you don't have the guts to log in and review.

I know, by quitting I'm opening myself up to more reviews telling me what a bad story I have and what a bad writer/person I am…but the good news is that my phone is broken so I won't see those reviews until I choose to log in on my computer. I will leave this posted for a few days so that everyone gets a chance to read it and then I'll pull the story down.

So again, thank you to those of you who gave it a chance and I'm sorry to those of you who enjoyed it. I won't change my mind this time, nor will I re-write it and re-post it at a later date. I'm sorry. It's not a decision I made lightly but it is one I'm going to stick to this time.


	10. Chapter 10- The End

_Author's Note: Okay, I got plenty of messages telling me it wasn't fair that I wasn't finishing this, that I'm disrespectful, that I'm robbing people; so I cut three chapters out of the outline and decided to post the final chapter so I can mark it complete and move on. I re-posted the author's note after deleting it so that anyone who logged in to comment on that note won't be kept from commenting on this chapter if they choose to do so. Happy Halloween._

Chapter 9-The End

"Mommy, where's Daddy?" McKenzie asked for the third time in a half hour.

"He'll be here," Kate replied as she and her mother helped McKenzie into her costume.

"I don't want to miss trick or treat!" she stated.

"You won't," Johanna soothed as she straightened the hem of the Cinderella costume. "You've got plenty of time."

"And Daddy wouldn't dare be late for trick or treat," Kate added.

"I hope not," her daughter said, her lower lip poking out in a slight pout.

"Why didn't Rick come over with you, Katie?" Johanna asked.

"He said he has a surprise for McKenzie and would meet us here."

"Oh, a surprise," Johanna said as she met her granddaughter's eye. "I bet that will be fun."

"It's not a scary surprise is it?" the little girl asked.

Kate smiled as she picked up the tiara to place on her daughter's head. "I'm sure that Daddy won't bring you a scary surprise. Now if Grandma puts a few pins in your hair to help your tiara stay in place, you'll be ready to go."

Johanna took a few bobby pins from her pocket and quickly worked them into McKenzie's hair to give the tiara extra security. "There you go, Princess; you're all ready. Did you bring your bucket?"

"It's here in the bag," Kate said as she reached into the shopping bag and pulled out the blue Cinderella bucket McKenzie had chosen at the Halloween store.

McKenzie smiled as she accepted her bucket. "Grandma, do I look like Cindaella?"

"You sure do; you're going to be the prettiest Cinderella out there tonight."

"We forgot one thing," Kate stated; the realization coming too late as she look at the boots poking out beneath her daughter's blue dress.

"I thought of it the day after and mentioned it to your husband," Johanna said, following her gaze. "He said he'd take care of it."

She nodded. "Maybe that's the surprise."

"What's the surprise?" McKenzie asked.

"You'll see when Daddy gets here. How about we go downstairs so you can show Grandpa your costume and Grandma and I can take pictures."

"I want to take a picture with Scarlett," McKenzie said. "Her looks so cute with her witchy hat on."

Johanna smiled as they filed out of Kate's old bedroom. "I'm pretty sure the only reason she's leaving it on is just for you, kitten. I thought she'd fight me on it but she's being a good sport and wearing it."

"I'm surprised too that she's wearing it," Kate remarked as they moved down the stairs.

"I think it helped that I told her it was for her favorite playmate."

Kate laughed. "You think the cat understood that?"

"Apparently she did, she's wearing it, isn't she?"

She nodded. "Okay, I'll give you that one."

"There's my pretty Cinderella," Jim declared as he stopped at the bottom of the steps and smiled at his granddaughter.

"Do you like my costume, Grandpa?" McKenzie asked as he scooped her up in his arms.

Jim kissed her cheek. "I love it. Are you excited to go trick or treating?"

"Uh huh; but we gotta wait on Daddy. He's bringing a surprise."

"A surprise, huh? What do you think it is?"

"I don't know; I hope it's a Barbie doll."

"No more Barbies until Santa brings you some," Kate stated.

"Daddy bought me a Barbie the other day; we made her a lawyer Barbie," McKenzie said.

"I know," Kate replied, thinking about how her husband had taken McKenzie out for a milkshake and an apology gift to smooth things over between them. He had told her how as they walked down the aisle of Barbie dolls and saw various careers represented that their daughter had asked for a lawyer Barbie only to be disappointed. She had asked him why Barbie wasn't a lawyer like her grandma and so Castle had taken it upon himself to search the accessories for a professional outfit for the doll; finding a set that had a pink skirt, white shirt and pink blazer, along with a briefcase and he picked out a Barbie with brown hair and together he and McKenzie had created Lawyer Barbie.

"What are you being for Halloween, Katie?" Jim asked teasingly.

She smirked at her father. "A pregnant off duty cop."

He nodded. "It's looks very realistic."

"Feels realistic too," she quipped.

"You're not dressing up for your party?" Johanna asked.

"No, I already feel like a pumpkin no matter what I have on."

"You can wear my 'ara, Mommy," McKenzie offered. "You can be a princess."

"That's sweet of you, Baby," she said, glancing down at her daughter. "Maybe I will borrow it after trick or treat."

Johanna gave Kate a grin. "With the tiara, you can be pregnant Kate Middleton."

Kate smiled. "That's perfect. I can answer to my own name, we're both tall and we both have long brown hair. Also, I have a nice comfortable dress I can put on when I get home."

"There you go, easy costume solution," Johanna laughed.

"I appreciate the idea," she remarked. "Kenzie; let's get pictures."

McKenzie obediently posed for pictures for her mother and grandparents before asking to have her picture taken with Scarlett. The cat ran to her playmates side and sat beside her, dutifully wearing the small witch's hat that McKenzie had chosen for her.

"Where's Daddy?" the little girl asked after they finished taking the pictures. "He's gonna miss trick or treat."

"If he's not here in the next five minutes, we'll call him," Kate assured.

"He's here," Jim said, as he looked out the window. "He's coming up the sidewalk now."

Kate moved into the entry way and opened the door to find her husband on the other side, a smile breaking across her face as she saw that he was in full costume as Prince Charming and carrying a shopping bag. "What's this?" she asked. "I thought you were being Dracula."

"I had a change of heart," he replied as he stepped into the entry way. "Is she ready?"

"Yes, she's been waiting on you with as much patience as she can muster…which means she's been asking every five minutes. But I think she'll love your surprise."

"This is only part of it," Castle replied as they moved toward the living room.

McKenzie caught sight of him, her face lighting up as she saw his costume. "Daddy, you're Prince Charming!"

"That's right…Cinderella can't be without her prince, now can she?"

His daughter clapped her hands and ran toward him, squealing happily as he swept her up in his arms. "I love your costume, Daddy."

"I'm glad, jellybean; I was hoping you would. Is it alright that I'm your prince tonight?"

"Uh huh," she said happily.

"We need to get pictures of you and Daddy together," Johanna stated.

Castle glanced at his mother-in-law. "Are you putting it on Facebook?"

"Of course…you want all my friends and family to know that you're the kind of Daddy who puts aside Dracula to be Prince Charming for his little Cinderella, don't you?" she asked lightly.

"Yes; yes I do," he stated; "That's why I was asking."

"Alright then, let's get to it."

"We can't just yet," he said; "First there's something else for McKenzie for her costume."

"What did you get me, Daddy?" McKenzie asked.

"You shall see," he told her. "Sit down on the bottom step and I'll show you."

McKenzie hurried to the step and sat down, excitement radiating through her small body as her father reached into the shopping bag and pulled out a pair of clear plastic shoes designed to look like glass slippers. "Glass slippers!" she exclaimed.

"That's right; but you know that you're only truly Cinderella if they fit," Castle stated as he reached for her feet and pulled off her boots. "Are you ready to try on your glass slippers?"

"Uh huh."

Castle slipped the first shoe onto her foot. "It fits!" he declared.

"It fits!" his daughter exclaimed. "I Cindaella!"

"You are," he said, slipping the other shoe onto her foot. "You are the princess that the prince has been searching for. Do I get a kiss?"

McKenzie gave her father a kiss. "Love you, Daddy."

"Love you too, jellybean."

"Daddy; do you have a 'maro?" she asked. "Some princes have 'maros."

He smiled. "Unfortunately I don't have a Camaro…Grandpa has the Camaro and Grandma already caught him with her princess net."

"That's okay, Daddy; you gots a Prince suit; I like it a whole lot."

"I'm glad," he replied; his heart swelling at the look of happiness on her face.

"Pictures now?" Johanna asked.

"Yes," he answered; "And then one more surprise."

"What's left?" Kate asked as she too aimed her phone at her husband and daughter to click pictures.

"You'll see…it's very special."

"I get another surprise?" McKenzie asked.

"You do; as soon as Grandma and Mommy get all their pictures taken."

"I think you made a great costume choice, Rick," Johanna stated. "You look very dashing as a prince."

He smiled. "Thank you…include that in your Facebook post."

"We'll see."

"It also works because we decided what Katie's costume will be," Jim stated.

Castle glanced at his wife. "I thought you weren't dressing up?"

"I wasn't…and in a way I'm not. McKenzie is lending me her tiara and Mom suggested I be pregnant Kate Middleton," she replied.

He grinned. "That's perfect, I like it…we're the royal family…only better looking."

Kate rolled her eyes but laughed. "Alright, what's the other surprise because we have to get going here soon."

Castle returned to his bag and pulled three books from it, handing one to McKenzie. "A story book," his daughter said with a smile.

"Not just any storybook," he told her, pointing to the title. "See these words, they say 'The Brave Princess'."

McKenzie's eyes widened. "That's what my story is called!"

He smiled. "That's right…it's your story."

"It's my princess story!?"

"That's right, jellybean…Daddy had it made into a real storybook."

"Castle, what are you talking about?" Kate asked as he handed her and Johanna each a copy of the story book which had an illustration of a little princess on the cover and the words 'By McKenzie Castle, with help from Daddy (Richard Castle) printed along the bottom of the book in girly purple lettering.

"Well…Johanna suggested that I write a story with McKenzie; so when you were at work the other day; I asked her to help me write a story. She wanted a story about a princess who had to fight a monster and save her favorite kitty," he stated. "She told me the story, with me helping only on minor plot points and of course doing the typing…we named it The Brave Princess. It took us all day but she enjoyed it and it's a good story…you're all right, she's a wonderful storyteller. I made a call to my publisher and asked if they knew anyone who could do a fast illustration of the story on short notice and they put me in contact with a very nice artist who made the story come to life from pictures on my phone …which is why I texted you, Johanna and asked for a picture of Scarlett…and also why I had you babysitting after you got off work on my days."

His mother-in-law smiled as she looked through the book with Jim. "This is wonderful, Rick."

"Grandma, I'm a writer like my Daddy!" McKenzie exclaimed as she clutched her book.

"I know; I think that's great," Johanna told her. "I can't wait to read your story."

"That copy is for you and Jim," Castle told her. "McKenzie has her own copy; we have one and I got one for Mother; and one for Ryan's kids…my publisher would like to publish it, but I'm not sure what to think of that idea."

"I think this book looks amazing," Kate said; "I'm so glad the two of you did this together…as for publishing it…maybe there are a lot of little girls who need this type of princess story."

"What does publish mean?" McKenzie asked.

Kate knelt down in front of her. "Publishing is what happens to Daddy's books…they sell them so everybody can read them. If this story was published, all little kids could read it."

"That would be nice; do you think they'd like my story?"

She smiled. "I'm sure they would."

"My worry," Castle said; "Is that someone somewhere might think we're exploiting our child."

"What if you did it as a partial charity thing?" Jim asked. "Take half the proceeds and put in a trust for McKenzie and donate the other half to a children's charity."

"That's not a bad idea," Castle replied.

"Since McKenzie loves reading and stories," Johanna said; "You could chose a charity that provides books to children…like Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, to name one."

Castle gave a nod and knelt down beside his daughter. "We have to do a lot of talking about whether your story gets published…but if it does; would you like it if it helped other little girls and boys to have storybooks?"

McKenzie nodded. "Everyone should have books."

"I agree," he replied. "We'll talk more about it with Mommy and make a decision in a few days, okay?"

"Okay. Grandma, can we read my story tonight?"

"Yes, sweetheart; we'll read it at bedtime."

A knock sounded at the door and Jim went to answer it, anticipating that a few trick or treaters had started already but instead he came back into the room with Alexis trailing behind him. "I found another princess," he stated.

"Alexis," Castle said as he took in the sight of his daughter, dressed in her old prom dress and a tiara on her head. "What are you doing here?"

"I told McKenzie I'd go trick or treating," Alexis answered. "Cinderella can't go without her sister."

"Cinderella has ugly stepsisters who are mean," he reminded her.

Alexis shrugged. "I'm going with the Ever After version; one stepsister was nice in that one."

"She's right," Kate and Johanna said at the same time.

"I stand corrected," he remarked.

"And besides," Alexis said; "Who's to say that Cinderella didn't have a real sister somewhere? Maybe she was hidden away."

Castle laid a hand against his heart. "My children are gifted story tellers."

"Lexis, you look pretty!" McKenzie told her.

"Thank you; you look pretty too," she said as she stooped down to hug her little sister.

"Now I need a picture of our sister princess," Johanna said; waiting as Alexis lifted McKenzie onto her hip so she could click a picture.

"It is okay that I go with you guys, isn't it?" Alexis asked; looking to Kate.

"Of course it is…you can help carry her when she gets tired," she said with a laugh.

Alexis gave her an amused smirk. "The oldest sister always gets the grunt work."

"We all have our lot in life, Alexis," Kate teased.

"You all better head out," Jim remarked as he glanced out the window. "I see they're starting to come out of houses."

"Alright, let's go Cinderella," Castle said as he held his hand out to his daughter.

"Wait," Johanna said, grabbing the big bowl of candy from the coffee table. "She has to get her treat here first."

"Of course, McKenzie; what's our line tonight?" he asked.

"Trick or treat," she said, holding her bucket out toward her grandmother.

Johanna dropped a handful of candy into her bucket. "Have fun, sweetie; Grandpa and I will be waiting on you when you get back."

"Okay, Grandma."

"We better get outside before the mob reaches the door," Jim said as he took the bowl from Johanna's hands.

"I'm coming," she said, pausing near her son-in-law. "I'm proud of you, Rick."

His brow lifted in surprise. "Really?"

"Yes," Johanna said with a smile. "I knew you could figure it out if you just put your mind to it."

"Thanks for the story idea," he told her.

"No problem; you took it way beyond the original idea, I think it's great…especially if you end up allowing it to help other kids."

"Come on, Daddy," McKenzie said, tugging at his hand.

He smiled as his mother-in-law moved past them and out the door to join her husband on the porch. Maybe he had figured out more than he planned.

* * *

Trick or treating had been going along smoothly, Castle thought to himself. McKenzie was having fun and made most of her trips to the doors and porches with her sister; but then they came upon a house that had gone the whole nine yards of spookiness, complete with spooky sound effects coming from an outdoor speaker. His daughter hesitated and pressed herself against her mother's leg. Kate glanced at him, silently asking him to handle the situation in the way he thought best as Alexis looked at her sister.

"It'll be okay," Alexis told her. "I'll be with you the whole time; I won't let anything hurt you."

"I don't know," McKenzie said softly, biting her lip as she studied the house.

Castle knelt down next to his daughter and turned her to face him. "Listen, honey," he said gently; "If you don't want to go to this house because it looks scary, we'll just skip it and go to the next one. No one will get mad at you; it's okay if you don't want to do it."

She continued to worry her lip. "I got my bravery stone in my bucket," she told him.

"Do you?" he asked.

"Uh huh, Mommy put it in there at home."

Castle nodded. "That was a good idea…since you have your bravery stone, does that mean you want to try to go get candy from this house?"

McKenzie met his eye. "Will you go with me, Daddy?"

He smiled. "Of course I'll go with you; me and Alexis both will…do you want me to carry you? Will that make you feel better if I'm holding you?"

"Yes, Daddy."

"Okay," he said, lifting her into his arms.

Kate gave her daughter a reassuring smile. "You're brave, princess."

McKenzie nodded. "Let's go, Daddy."

Castle headed for the house with Alexis following beside them, leaving Kate on the sidewalk. She watched as they moved slowly, giving McKenzie time to see that it was all just decorations…but Kate spotted a person on the porch dressed as a scarecrow and she prayed that it wouldn't jump up and scare her child…she prayed the person would see that she was just a little girl who was already nervous just from the sight of the decorations and the sounds coming from the speakers.

She knew that Alexis noticed the person on the porch as well, seeing her stepdaughter's body language change to that of someone on alert and she smiled as Alexis quickly grabbed a piece of candy from the bowl on the table and dropped it into McKenzie's bucket and ushered her father to turn around. Kate held her breath, watching as they moved away; the scarecrow stated seated and breathed again as her family returned to her.

"I did it, Mommy," McKenzie told her. "I was 'fraid but I did it."

"I seen that," she told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'm very proud of you."

McKenzie smiled and then glimpsed a little girl dressed as a witch. "Look, that little girl is a nice witchy."

"She is," Castle agreed. "Do you think you might want to be a witch next year?"

"No; I be Taylor Swift next year," McKenzie declared.

"Taylor Swift?" he repeated.

"Uh huh, me and Lexis like to shake it off."

Castle glanced at his older daughter who smiled sheepishly. "It's our song."

"I see."

Kate laughed softly. "Well, Castle…it's not a princess."

"That's true."

McKenzie met his eye. "Can I be Taylor Swift next year, Daddy?"

He breathed deeply and conceded the idea that she'd ever do a Halloween-ish type costume. "Sure, Jellybean; if that's what you want to be next year; that's what you can be."

"Thank you," she said, giving him a hug.

Castle hugged her tightly and then sat McKenzie on her feet and she took Alexis's hand and they headed for the next house. Kate slipped her arm through her husband's as they followed behind their daughters. "You do look quite dashing in this costume," she whispered to her husband, a coy smile on her lips.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah…I like it much better than your original choice."

"Princes do it for you, huh?" he said. "And here I thought you wanted the bad boys."

She shrugged. "Bad boys are overrated…and every girl wants a prince charming; I'm just glad you're mine."

He grinned. "You really like this costume."

"I do…I think it's sexy."

His brow rose. "Makes me sorry we're having a party later."

"Well, you know, McKenzie is staying with my parents for the night…and the party will end; so once the place is empty…you and I could do a little trick or treating of our own," Kate said suggestively.

"Wow," he said; "Your mother is proud of me, my daughters are happy and you want to trick or treat with me…there are definite benefits of being un-scared."

Kate laughed. "See, Castle; when you're a good boy, the Great Pumpkin rewards you."

He grinned. "I love Halloween…no matter what version it is."

Kate leaned into him affectionately. "I'm proud of you too, you know. I knew you could come to terms with this if you just tried…and you did; and you fixed everything. I love you and I'm proud of you."

"I love you too," he replied, giving her a quick kiss. His daughter's version of Halloween hadn't been nearly as bad as he had thought it would be.


End file.
